{"id":5350,"date":"2025-05-12T15:41:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/?p=5350"},"modified":"2025-05-13T11:36:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T11:36:42","slug":"spy-gang-working-for-putin-out-of-a-dingy-seaside-hotel-jailed-for-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/spy-gang-working-for-putin-out-of-a-dingy-seaside-hotel-jailed-for-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Spy gang working for Putin out of a dingy seaside hotel jailed for 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Spy\t<\/div>
A group of six Bulgarians living in the UK have been convicted of being part of a spying operation across Europe on behalf of Russia (Picture: Met Police)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Six Bulgarians who spied for Russia<\/a> in some of the \u2018largest and most complex\u2019 operations ever uncovered on UK soil have been jailed for a total of 50 years between them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The network used code names from popular films, with the ringleader calling himself Jackie Chan<\/a> and his sidekick Mad Max or Jean-Claude Van Damme.<\/p>\n

Working for Putin’s military intelligence service, the GRU, their underlings were dubbed \u2018Minions\u2019 after the characters from animated franchise \u2018Despicable Me\u2019, who follow an evil mastermind named Gru.<\/p>\n

\u2018Behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals, including journalists,\u2019 Met counter terror boss Commander Dominic Murphy said.<\/p>\n

\u2018This was industrial-scale espionage on behalf of Russia.\u2019<\/p>\n

Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, and competitive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, were found guilty at the Old Bailey in March of spying on an \u2018industrial scale\u2019, putting lives and national security at risk.<\/p>\n

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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They were sentenced at the same court today alongside ringleader Orlin Roussev, 47, his second-in-command Biser Dzhambazov, 44, and Ivan Stoyanov, 33, who admitted their roles.<\/p>\n<p>The six spies were handed sentenced between 5 years and nearly 11 years based on their seniority, the charges they were convicted of and whether they pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n<p>The network was directed by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian businessman wanted by Interpol after the collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard.<\/p>\n<p>Marsalek acted as a go-between for Russian intelligence and Roussev, who led the cell from a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.<\/p>\n<p>He directed six operations over a period of at least three years dating back to August 2020. <\/p>\n<p>Spanning the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro, they included elaborate schemes to gather intelligence on people and places of interest to the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242908886-baa0.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22692974\" alt=\"An undated Metropolitan Police handout photo of Bulgarian national Vanya Gaberova who is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of being part of a Russian spy ring, in London, Britain. Metropolitan Police\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Bulgarian national Vanya Gaberova (Picture: Met Police\/Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242908894-4c41.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22692972\" alt=\"An undated Metropolitan Police handout photo of Bulgarian national Katrin Ivanova who is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of being part of a Russian spy ring, in London, Britain. Metropolitan Police\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Katrin Ivanova was part of a Russian spy ring (Picture: Met Police\/Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In one mission, the gang tried to lure a Bulgarian journalist who uncovered Moscow\u2019s involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, into a \u2018honeytrap\u2019 romance with Gaberova.<\/p>\n<p>The court heard Gaberova knew she was acting in Russia’s benefit and found it ‘exciting and glamorous’.<\/p>\n<p>The spies followed Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev from Vienna to a conference in Valencia, Spain, and the gang\u2019s ringleaders discussed robbing and killing him, or kidnapping him and taking him to Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Roussev harboured a trove of spy equipment that police described as \u2018Aladdin\u2019s Cave\u2019 when it was raided.<\/p>\n<p>They discovered loads of spy cameras, hidden in sunglasses, pens, neckties and cuddly toys that included a Minion. Technology used to jam Wi-Fi and GPS signals were found, along with eavesdropping devices and car trackers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"metro-video-player \" data-track-module=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-responsive\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T4M34S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/05\/12\/18\/98304101-0-image-a-10_1747069784636.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-05-12T16:48:38+0100″,”description”:”In one mission, a group of them tried to lure a Bulgarian journalist who uncovered Moscow’s involvement in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, England, into a ‘honeytrap’ romance with Gaberova.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/05\/12\/2635017248874972790\/480x270_MP4_2635017248874972790.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480}<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<video 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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Dzhambazov, who worked for a medical courier company but claimed to be an Interpol police officer, was in a relationship with both the women \u2014 his laboratory assistant partner Ivanova and beautician Gaberova.<\/p>\n<p>Ivanova had ‘thrown in’ her lot with him ‘for better or for worse’ and was ‘an enthusiastic participant’ in the plots, the court heard.<\/p>\n<p>Gaberova, in turn, had ditched painter-decorator Ivanchev for Dzhambazov, who took her to Michelin-starred restaurants and stayed with her in a five-star hotel.<\/p>\n<p>When police moved in to arrest the suspects in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov naked in bed with Gaberova rather than at home with Ivanova.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"969\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242905478-be08.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22689494\" alt=\"Undated Metropolitan Police handout photo of the exterior a property in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev in 2023. Bulgarians Vanya Gaberova, 30, Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and Katrin Ivanova, 33, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of their part in one of the "largest and most complex" Russian spy operations to be uncovered on UK soil. Issue date: Friday March 7, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Secrets. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The exterior of a property in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev in 2023 (Picture: Metropolitan Police\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"969\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242907082-742e.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22689564\" alt=\"Undated Metropolitan Police handout photo of items found during the search of an address in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev in 2023. XXXX. Issue date: YYYY PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Secrets. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Items found during the search of an address in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where police arrested spy chief Orlin Roussev (Picture: Metropolitan Police\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both women claimed during the trial that they had been deceived and manipulated by Dzhambazov.<\/p>\n<p>Following the gang\u2019s convictions, Cmdr Murphy said: \u2018I have never seen anything like this in my more than 20 years in counter-terrorism. It was an extremely sophisticated operation.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Reading some of the messages and content on the devices you might be tempted to think this is not a serious threat, but behind those nicknames was an extremely sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation that posed a threat to national security and individuals, including journalists.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Investigators said lives could have been lost had the group not been arrested, recalling the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury.<\/p>\n<p>Orlin Roussev, described as the chief of the spy cell, was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242906175-b56e.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22689489\" alt=\"Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Biser Dzhambazov. Bulgarians Vanya Gaberova, 30, Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and Katrin Ivanova, 33, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of their part in one of the "largest and most complex" Russian spy operations to be uncovered on UK soil. Issue date: Friday March 7, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Secrets. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Biser Dzhambazov operated in one of the ‘largest and most complex’ Russian spy operations to be uncovered on UK soil (Picture: Metropolitan Police\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"470\" height=\"652\" src=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_242906051-a6dd.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22689487\" alt=\"Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Tihomir Ivanchev. Bulgarians Vanya Gaberova, 30, Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and Katrin Ivanova, 33, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of their part in one of the "largest and most complex" Russian spy operations to be uncovered on UK soil. Issue date: Friday March 7, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Secrets. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police\/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Tihomir Ivanchev was also sentenced over the spy ring (Picture: Metropolitan Police\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bizer Dzhambazov was sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail, while Katrin Ivanova was sentenced to nine years and eight months.<\/p>\n<p>Vanya Gaberova was sentenced to six years, eight months and three weeks’ imprisonment, Ivanchev was jailed for eight years, and Stoyanov for five years and three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The judge told all six defendants they must serve half their sentences in prison in the UK, after which they may be deported to Bulgaria.<\/p>\n<p>Cmdr Murphy added: \u2018My concern has always been what that lifestyle surveillance was going to lead to and we have seen a long history of the Russian state conducting operations here in the UK, including lethal threat operations like the investigation in Salisbury.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong><strong><strong>Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:webnews@metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\">webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this, <\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A group of six Bulgarians living in the UK have been convicted of being part of a spying operation across Europe on behalf of Russia (Picture: Met Police) Six Bulgarians<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/spy-gang-working-for-putin-out-of-a-dingy-seaside-hotel-jailed-for-50-years\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<svg class=\"icon icon-arrow-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use href=\"#icon-arrow-right\" xlink:href=\"#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use> <\/svg><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Spy gang working for Putin out of a dingy seaside hotel jailed for 50 years<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5360,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350\/revisions\/5360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}