Members of a spy ring plotted in autumn of 2022 to capture identifying details from mobile phones at a US airbase in Stuttgart in the belief that Ukrainian soldiers were training there on how to use Patriot air defence systems, the Old Bailey heard.
They planned to use a sophisticated device known as an Imsi catcher to obtain the unique number of each phone and its sim card and pass on information that could be of benefit to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, prosecutors said.
Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, said if “a Ukrainian soldier on that airbase had his phone completely identified, when he takes it back to Ukraine it could be possible to know where he is”. Obtaining such information, she told the court, “could not be more serious”.
Planning for the operation took place in October and November 2022, the court heard, but a few days before it was due to go ahead in February 2023 members of the spy ring, all Bulgarians living in the UK, were arrested.
Jan Marsalek, described to the court as a Russian agent, asked the leader of the spy ring, Orlin Roussev, on 19 October in a chat message on the Telegram app: “On an entirely separate note, can we use the IMSI catcher in Germany? We need to spy on Ukrainian [sic] at a German military base.”
A day later, Roussev set up a Telegram group and added Biser Dzhambazov as a member. He announced there was “a new task currently under development” and detailed an initial reconnaissance mission.
A team on the ground would “go on a tour in Germany for 1 or 2 days,” Roussev wrote, where “there has to be observation made of the entrance to a training regiment for Ukrainian soldiers”. They would aim to see if there were “houses or apartments to rent” and if there was suitable parking.
“The goal is to find a good place and maybe a car that we swap every 2 days,” though Roussev acknowledged: “It may be best to install the big Imsi catcher in an apartment.” Another Telegram message indicated he had the device in his flat in Great Yarmouth, Morgan told the court.
On 21 October Marsalek said he had more specific information for Roussev and a warning. There were two locations of interest, Marsalek wrote in one of thousands of message recovered by prosecutors, but “both appear to be US bases – so we-d have to be EXTREMELY careful”.
Prosecutors said that Dzhambazov and a third member of the team, Katrin Ivanova, 33, travelled to Stuttgart on 31 October 2022 and conducted reconnaissance of the outside of the barracks for four days.
Ivanova is one of three Bulgarian nationals on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of spying for Russia as part of a larger spy ring. Jurors have been told that Roussev and Dzhambazov have pleaded guilty to spying for Russia, but Ivanova denies the espionage charge.
Prosecutors said Ivanova and Dzhambazov surveyed the outside of the airbase, and showed the court pictures and video of its perimeter and the town said to have been taken by her and recovered from her phone.
“The entire base is surrounded by a fence with wire mesh on the fence. There are cameras every five metres in both directions,” Dzhambazov wrote to Roussev, using the nickname Van Dam after actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. In their communications Roussev was known as Jackie Chan.
After the reconnaissance, the plotters continued their preparations, the court heard. Roussev and Dzhambazov discussed what fee to charge, and settled on €40,000 to €45,000 (£33,000 to 37,000) for the first month, Morgan said.
But there were signs of nervousness from Marsalek, who messaged Roussev on 2 December: “Our friends here have asked to ask you/the team to be extremely careful because the germans are totally nervous at the moment regarding Russian intelligence activities on the ground.”
The barracks surveillance plot was one of six operations conducted by the spy ring, according to prosecutors. Two others were outlined to the court on Tuesday: one was an attempt to organise a fake anti-government protest outside the Kazakhstan embassy in London in the autumn of 2021, details of which would be passed to Kazakh intelligence to make it look like Russia was helping Kazakhstan.
Another involved the surveillance of Kirill Kachur, a Russian national in Montenegro, who had fallen foul of the regime. Members of the spy ring conducted surveillance of Kachur’s property, prosecutors said, and liaised with a Russian spy known only as “Red Sparrow” who aimed to abduct him.
Two others – Vanya Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev – are also on trial, and were said to be involved in the surveillance in Montenegro. They deny the charges.
The trial continues.
