French secret services discover Russian agent "14 years chef", carried out sabotage

2024-07-27 10:53:18Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
French secret services discover Russian agent "14 years chef", carried
A soldier in the Place du Trocadero as part of the massive security operation ahead of the start of the Paris Olympics. Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

A Russian chef who has lived in France for 14 years was arrested yesterday on suspicion of conspiring with a foreign power to organize large-scale acts of "destabilization" during the Paris Olympics.

The 40-year-old was arrested during a raid on his apartment in central Paris on Sunday, where a document linked to an elite Russian special forces unit operating under the command of the FSB, a successor to the KGB, was reportedly found. of.

A judicial investigation has been opened into allegations of sharing "intelligence with a foreign power for the purpose of provoking hostilities in France", a crime punishable by 30 years in prison.

The suspected plot, according to The Guardian, is not believed to have been linked to terrorism.

The ambitious opening ceremony of Paris 2024 was organized yesterday evening on the banks of the Seine. 

Prosecutors in Paris said that the search of the Russian citizen's apartment was carried out at the request of the French Interior Ministry.

According to French media reports, agents found evidence suggesting the man was preparing a "large-scale project" that could have had "serious" consequences during the three weeks of the games.

The French newspaper, Le Monde, reported that intelligence services had intercepted a phone call two months ago between the individual and an employee of the Russian intelligence services, in which the suspect had stated that "the French will have an opening ceremony like never before before".


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