Alleged Bulgarian Spy Ring Believed to Have Targeted RAF Northolt

Trio suspected of working for Russians had flat nearby

Biser Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova and Orlin Roussev. Picture: Met Police

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August 16, 2023

Three people who have been arrested by counter-terrorism police may have been seeking to spy on Northolt airport.

The trio all at one point were registered as living at an address across the A40 from the RAF base which is often used by the Royal Family and ministers as well as the ministry.

Bulgarian nationals Orlin Roussev, 45, Biser Dzhambazov, 42, and Katrin Ivanova, 31, were apparently living normal lives before their arrest at addresses in Harrow and Great Yarmouth.

The police allege that searches on their properties revealed them to be in possession of fake uniforms, passports and press cards for ‘improper intention’. The uniforms were for the Discovery and National Geographic television channel and the fake passports included those of the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Greece and the Czech Republic.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Dzhambazov had told neighbours at the Northolt flat that he worked for Interpol. He tried to put up a large satellite dish on the side of the property which people living in the block say was pointed in a different direction from everyone else’s.

Mr Dzhambazov and Ms Ivanova were living as a couple in Harrow at the time of the arrest with a policeman as a next-door neighbour. Residents in their road described them as low profile but friendly. Ms Ivanova worked for a community organisation which gave support to Bulgarian nationals living in the UK while Mr Dzhambazov worked as a driver for hospitals.

Mr Roussev, who was arrested in Great Yarmouth claims on LinkedIn that he had served as an adviser to the Bulgarian energy minister. He moved to the UK in 2009 where he worked in IT and had business connections with Russia.

The Russian intelligence services often use nationals of third-party countries to enable deniability.

The trio appeared at the Old Bailey on 31 July and have been remanded in custody ahead of a trial, the date of which is yet to be set. Another man and woman, who have not been named, were arrested as part of the same investigation and have been released on bail.

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