Mon 22 August 2022:
Two Russians and a Ukrainian were apprehended following an apparent failed surveillance raid on a military installation and arms manufacturing in central Albania, According to the Albanian defense ministry.
One of the male suspects allegedly attacked the guards with paralyzing spray when they were attempting to photograph the Gramsh factory.
Following the raid, two Albanian soldiers were injured while attempting to apprehend three people “suspected of espionage,” according to Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Çfarë trishtimi që edhe kur bëhet fjalë për një ngjarje kaq delikate sa ajo e Gramshit, gjithëfarë gjelash laramanë ia marrin avazit majë plehut të interesave të tyre mizerabël! Po edhe çfarë krenarie për rojet ushtarake që i neutralizuan tre individët e dyshuar për spiunazh!
— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) August 20, 2022
The Balkan country’s Defence Minister Niko Peleshi said that a Russian man along with a 25-year-old Ukrainian was also arrested in a car near the factory.
The country’s ministry said in a statement, “In an attempt to escape control, one of the Russian nationals, identified by the initials MZ, 24 [years old], used neuroparalysing spray on the two security guards.”
The Russian man, the 24-year-old Mikhail Zorin, was detained after entering the plant’s grounds in Gramsh, 80 kilometres south of the capital, Tirana, and taking photos, the ministry said in a statement.
Two military guards were injured by what is alleged to be a type of paralysing agent or pepper spray used by the Russian while resisting arrest.
Another Russian woman, the 33-year-old Svetlana Timofoeva, and a Ukrainian man identified by initials only, F.A., 25, were arrested outside the complex, and their vehicle was blocked, the ministry said.
The vehicle has since been identified as an orange Chevrolet muscle car with Ukrainian licence plates.
During the summer, many Russian and Ukrainian tourists visit Albania, and the Gramsh military installation is more than 70 kilometers from the beaches.
During communist rule, the plant, which provides manufacturing services to the defense industry, was used to make the Russian AK-47 rifle and dismantle small guns and ammunition.
NATO member Albania has introduced sanctions on Russia, joining the United States and other Western countries in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Four Czechs arrested for alleged espionage in Albania
Four Czech citizens were apprehended by the police after they were caught taking pictures near a weapons factory and arms depot in Poliçan, in southern Albania.
The incident took place at around 8:40 am on Sunday after the Czech nationals were detected in one of the tunnels at the facility, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The suspects have been taken in for questioning and the four are claiming to be tourists, Euronews Albania reported.
The regional police director, military police representatives and at least two vehicles of the rapid intervention force, FNSH, have all been seen arriving in the region’s capital, Berat.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES | Representational image
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