Three suspected foreign spies in custody in Germany

DPA
·2 min read
7
A sign reading "Attorney General at the Federal Supreme Court" is pictured at the entrance to Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office building. Christoph Schmidt/dpa
A sign reading "Attorney General at the Federal Supreme Court" is pictured at the entrance to Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office building. Christoph Schmidt/dpa

Prosecutors in Germany have revealed that three suspected agents for a foreign intelligence agency are in custody after being arrested earlier this week.

The suspected foreign agents were arrested in Frankfurt on Wednesday, according to Germany's federal prosecutor's office, which revealed the arrests for the first time publicly on Friday.

The men were brought before a judge on Thursday, who ruled that the men should continue to be held in custody.

"The three accused were travelling in Germany on behalf of a foreign secret service in order to gather information on a person from Ukraine who was staying here," the highest German prosecution authority added.

The specific foreign secret service for which they were working remains unidentified, prosecutors said.

The alleged agents are a Ukrainian, an Armenian and a Russian national. They are "strongly suspected" of having worked for a foreign secret service, they said.

Their mission allegedly involved collecting information on a Ukrainian individual residing in Germany. On Wednesday, the trio was observed scouting a café in Frankfurt where their target was expected to be, according to prosecutors.

The arrests were made based on observations rather than a tip-off, which is often the case in such scenarios, dpa has learned.

This is not an isolated incident. German prosecutors have been handling several espionage cases recently.

In late April, four suspected agents were detained for allegedly working for a Chinese secret service. Among them was a former top aide of Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Maximilian Krah.

Krah has been battered by several scandals, including allegations of accepting funds from Russia and China.

His former aide is accused of passing on information about European Parliament activities and spying on Chinese opposition members in Germany.

Less than a week earlier, two men were arrested in Bavaria for allegedly working for a Russian secret service.

They were reportedly scouting potential targets for sabotage operations intended to undermine Germany's military support to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Germany remains a significant target for espionage due to its prominent role in the EU, NATO, and other international organizations.

A 2023 report from Germany's Interior Ministry on the protection of the constitution underscored the significant use of human intelligence, cyber attacks, and other technical reconnaissance tools by foreign powers in their intelligence operations, which present a grave threat to Germany and its interests.