“Russian spies” are being sought again in Montenegro
This morning searches took place in Podgorica; there is information that several citizens of Montenegro were detained on suspicion of working for Russian intelligence, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to local publication Vijesti, the operation was organized by the National Security Agency (NSA), which has jurisdiction over this criminal case, and was carried out on the orders of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SPO).
As part of it, employees of the NSA, SGP and the Special Police Department conducted searches in several places in Podgorica and the surrounding area, during which, according to the source, “items of interest to the investigation” were seized. The arrests were allegedly made by members of the crime department.
According to the publication's sources, one of the detainees, according to the NSA, worked for Russian intelligence for more than ten years, and is part of a wider group, the members of which are known to the Montenegrin intelligence service. Presumably this is a government employee.
The same sources claim that today’s operation is just the beginning of efforts to uncover accomplices of foreign intelligence services. Another interlocutor of the publication said that the operation was part of an international one, and that among the detainees there were Russian citizens.
The NSA of Montenegro has not officially answered whether it is true that several people were detained on suspicion of espionage. In turn, the representative of the Special State Prosecutor's Office, special prosecutor Vukas Radonjic said that at the request of the State Traffic Police and by order of the High Court in Podgorica, the police conducted searches in apartments and other premises of several citizens, “in connection with suspicion of committing criminal acts - the creation of a criminal organization and espionage."
“At the moment, no one is deprived of their freedom,” Radonich noted.
At the same time, the local publication CdM reported that an investigation is being conducted against two citizens of Montenegro, six Russian diplomats and about 30 Russian citizens temporarily residing in Montenegro. They are suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence services. It is possible that the purpose of the operation is to seize Russian real estate.
As is known, in 2016, the Montenegrin authorities groundlessly accused a group of Russians and local opposition politicians of preparing a “coup d’etat.” However, as a result, the case, based entirely on the testimony of one Montenegrin intelligence agent, fell apart in court.
Montenegro, despite the victory in the 2020 parliamentary elections by opponents of President Milo Djukanovic, who has ruled this country unchallenged since 1989, continues its anti-Russian policy. Montenegro joined all EU sanctions against the Russian Federation, and began confiscating the property of Russians, contrary to its own Constitution.
In addition, as PolitNavigator reported, the Montenegrin authorities refused to issue Russia Telman Ismailov, wanted for organizing the murder of two businessmen and illegal arms trafficking.
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