An unknown spy thriller at Northern border of Greece brings to light the , a few twenty-four hours after the revelation of the action of the Russian spy Irena Smireva or Maria Tsalla in the center of Athens. It unfolded last August and the protagonists are again Russian spies who were arrested by the Albanian authorities.

In August, prosecutors in the neighboring country arrested two Russian nationals and a young Ukrainian for espionage at an old military facility in the town of Grams.

“It seems that they were very well coordinated, coming from different parts of the border they met in Tirana and went together to the city of Grams,” reports Fatjona Mejdini, a journalist from the Global Initiative and adds:

“The guards saw them and chased after them to stop them and as they were being chased by one of the three, the Russian sprayed the guards with pepper spray or some other neuroactive substance.”

The details of the case have been kept secret for the last few months to the officers of the EYP in order to outline the activity of Russian spies in Greece and the Balkans.

“The Russian arrested during the interrogation confessed to the Albanian police that ‘yes I am a Russian spy,'” reports the journalist from the Global Initiative.

Their advocate emphasizes to SKAI that no evidence has yet emerged to prove that his principals had gathered and distributed confidential information material.

“They are waiting for the crime labs to check the drone, their cell phones and laptops to see if they have collected secrets and if there is classified information on their electronic equipment, computers, drones and cell phones,” emphasizes their lawyer Isuf Shehu .

A few weeks ago, Moscow sent an extradition request for one of the three defendants, requesting her return to Moscow, under the pretext that she is wanted for espionage against Russia

“Svetlana Timofeeva is accused of spying for Russia in Albania, and Russia accuses her of being a spy on behalf of foreign – Western powers,” says lawyer Isuf Shehu.

The couple of Russian spies who were arrested in December in Slovenia also operated in the Balkans, as the Slovenian journalist who revealed the matter points out to SKAI.

“They worked in the Balkan region and the countries of ex-Yugoslavia I heard about Croatia and Bosnia, maybe also in Serbia I’m not entirely sure.. they traveled a lot in these areas,” says Novica Mihailovic, Journalist from Slovenia.

In fact, according to some information, it was the cooperation between the secret services of the West that led to the revelation of the spy network, not only in Ljubljana, but also in Athens.

The threads were moved from somewhere else I would say from the Western intelligence community. It is not something that our own service could achieve alone, notes Mr. Mihailovic.

In Greece, Slovenia and elsewhere, investigations to uncover Russian espionage networks continue.