On Monday, British courts will be imprisoned for up to 10 years, with six Bulgarians as Russian spy cell It is described as something in a "spy novel."
Investigators found fake passports, hidden cameras, spy love triangles and secret chats about potential kidnapping and "honey straps."
Orlin Roussev, 47, operate From a shabby former hotel in the British waterfront resort in Great Yarmouth, where police found a "treasure of spy appliances."
Judge Nicholas Hilliard ruled the group at the Old Bailey Criminal Court in London, saying the potential risks of espionage in the UK and the targeted people are clear.
The cell's operation is believed to be one of the "largest and most complex" enemy operations ever found on British land.
Judge Hilliard said the defendants were “motivated by money” and discussed a lot of 1 million euros ($1.1 million).
The judge added that the amount paid to the spy proved the value of their secret activities to Russia.
The court heard that the spy operated on the borders of Britain, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro.
Hundreds of spy gadgets were recovered from Roussev's property, including those hidden in rocks, men's tie, coke bottle and even minion toys.
Police unravelled six operations dating back to three years in August 2020 through a large number of telegram messages from Roussev's phone call.
In the chat, Roussev was nicknamed "Jackie Chan", calling his spy a minion - a character in the animated film "Despicable Me" - and his 44-year-old commander commanded a two-headed soldier to "Mad Max."
In a sinister message about potential kidnapping, Ringeader Roussev replied: “If you take it seriously, I have the resources to kidnap, cheer him on and lock him in a safe cave.”
Like "spy novels"
Dominic Murphy, head of the Counter-Terrorism Command at the Metropolitan Police, described the cell as an "extremely mature intelligence gathering operation".
He said ahead of the sentencing hearing that the network's activities are "real threats" to targeted individuals and national security.
The cell was directed by alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, an Austrian businessman who Interpol wanted after the collapse of German payment processing company Wirecard.
Marsalek acts as somewhere between Russian intelligence and Roussev.
Roussev, Dzhambazov and 33-year-old Ivan Stoyanov pleaded guilty to the spy. They were sentenced to 10 years, 8 months, 2 months and five years in prison respectively.
lab assistant Katrin Ivanova, 39, three other former competitive open water swimmers, Tihomir Ivanchev, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beauty salon business owner, were found guilty after the trial in March.
They were sentenced to eight years, nine years and eight months respectively.
Gaberova's defense attorney Anthony Metzer said Gaberova "was under control and forced by Mr. Dzhambazov, who is her lover and also involved in Ivanova. The court was told she was diagnosed with depression, panic disorder, claustrophobia and anxiety.
The network engages in a series of surveillance and intelligence operations targeting people and attractions of interest in the Russian state.
They discussed using Gaberova as a “honey trap” to invite a high-profile journalist and drip blood in the Kazakh embassy in London.
Another designed to sweep mobile phone data from Ukrainian soldiers is believed to be Ukrainian soldiers trained at U.S. air force bases.
When police raided the houses of cell members in February 2023, they found Dzhambazov, who had a long-term relationship with Ivanova, with his lover Gaberova, exposed bed.
Gaberova provides evidence that she had been deceived by Dzhambazov, who believes she is an international guard official with brain cancer.
Bellinger investigative journalist Christo Grozev was the target of the network after the Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England in 2018 and the Malaysian Airlines plane landed in July 2014.
He said in an Impact statement that it was “fearing, disorienting and profound stability” that the discovery of the ghosts of Bulgaria followed the movements of him and his family and monitored their communications for a long time.