Overview

• The six-member spy network operated from a guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, using advanced surveillance technology and forged documents to target journalists, dissidents, and military sites.
• Ringleader Orlin Roussev received the longest sentence of 10 years and 8 months, with other members sentenced to terms ranging from 5 to nearly 11 years.
• The group employed honeytrap tactics, with female agents used to lure targets, and conducted surveillance on a US military base in Germany training Ukrainian troops.
• Authorities warn that this case highlights an evolving Russian strategy of outsourcing espionage to non-Russian operatives, with similar cells potentially still active in the UK.
• The operation, described as one of the largest uncovered on British soil, was linked to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive wanted for fraud and alleged ties to Russian intelligence.