TWO BRITS HELD IN ALBANIA AS ‘SPIES’
» Pair’s radio gear seized » ‘IT workers on hol’ claim
TWO Britons have been arrested by Albanian spooks and accused of spying, after border police found radio transmitters in their luggage.
The pair were quizzed on allegations of espionage by officers at Tirana International Airport after they discovered sophisticated Kenwood radios in their luggage.
They told the officials they were IT engineers who were carrying the amateur gear to indulge their hobby while on holiday in Albania.
One suspect was registered as using a “ham radio” in the Tirana region on online profiles, which also say he specialises in “electronic warfare”.
Albanian police confirmed that they have opened a probe over allegations of “spy activities” and “espionage”.
A source said: “It’s highly unusual to be carrying this sort of equipment and even stranger for someone to be stopped and accused of being a covert agent.”
The two Britons were held on May 30 and then allowed to return to the UK. However they remain under investigation, police say. The electronic kit by Kenwood, which makes a range of cutting edge communication devices,was sent to the Albanian Criminal Laboratory for further examination.
The Cybernetic Unit is assisting with the investigation along with the State Intelligence Service.
Eduard Merkaj, director of the border police, said: “It is an ongoing investigation and we are continuing to examine the machines seized.”
Insiders say investigators are trying to establish whether the devices can record or interfere with analog radio waves used by the country’s military and secret service.
Albania is a former communist state which joined NATO in 2009. Its foreign policy has been in line with the EU and USA, and its agencies are on constant alert to combat espionage by the Russian state.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has a significant influence on neighbouring countries such as Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina but not Albania.
During the NATO military exercise Defender Europe 2021, two Russian men were spotted flying a drone at Kucova Air Base in Albania. They were held by the intelligence service then expelled.
It’s highly unusual for someone to be carrying this sort of equipment
SOURCE ON THE TWO ARRESTED BRITONS