In the middle of central Stockholm, a suspected agent was arrested on Tuesday. He is said to be an employee in the high-technology sector and recruited by Russia for espionage.
It was a person suspected of being recruited as an agent by a Russian intelligence officer working under diplomatic cover in Sweden, the Swedish security police told Säpo on Wednesday.
The alleged agent was arrested on Tuesday evening in central Stockholm during a meeting, the security police wrote in a statement. Whether it was a man or a woman was initially as unclear as the nationality of the person.
According to the Säpo, the person works in the Swedish high-tech sector, where he is entrusted with tasks „of interest to foreign intelligence agencies“. The alleged spy has been employing the security police since 2017. The threat to Sweden in the area of cybercrime has increased, according to the Säpo.
Prosecutor: „tricky matter“
The Swedish newspaper „Aftonbladet“ from Stockholm spoke with the responsible prosecutor. Because this is such a „delicate matter,“ he does not want to comment, Mats Ljungqvist said.
A spectacular espionage case occurred about a year ago with the alleged attack on Sergej Skripal in the UK, who had previously worked for the Russian military intelligence service GRU. He had previously been sentenced to 13 years‘ imprisonment in Russia. During a prisoner exchange, he came to the United Kingdom in 2010.
He and his daughter came into contact with the explosive Nowitschok, many countries accused Russia of the attack and expelled Russian diplomats from their countries. Skripal and his daughter have since been released from the hospital. Skripal should have been brought to a safe and unknown location.
