Officers of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) have detained six people suspected of working for Russian services and illegally supplying military materials to Russia. A court has remanded four of them in custody on espionage charges, announced Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister coordinator of special services.
Minister Tomasz Siemoniak wrote on X on Thursday, 5 November, that among those detained are five Poles aged 25 to 52 and a 37-year-old Russian woman. All are suspected of participating in an organised criminal group acting against the Republic of Poland.
Four in custody, two at liberty
The court remanded four suspects in custody on espionage charges. The other two were subject to non-custodial preventive measures.
Searches in three voivodeships
The operations ran from 21 October to 2 November. ABW officers searched 21 locations in the Warmian-Masurian, Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships. According to the minister, the evidence gathered indicates that the detained individuals acted on behalf of Russian special services and took part in activities supporting the military potential of the Russian Federation.
Materials for Russia’s defence industry
The investigation has found that the group allegedly supplied Russia with significant quantities of military-purpose materials used in the production of ammunition and weapons systems. On its X account, the ABW described the case as smuggling of components for weapons production and the breakup of a group suspected of working for Russian services.
The investigation is ongoing. It is supervised by the Podlasie Branch Office of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok, while the activities are carried out by officers of the ABW Delegation in Olsztyn.
Scale of espionage proceedings
Siemoniak noted that since 1 January 2024, nearly 100 people have gained the status of suspect in espionage and sabotage proceedings conducted by the ABW.
This is another high-profile case of this kind. In October we reported on the detention of a participant in an officer course in Łódź on suspicion of espionage.
The names of those detained have not been disclosed. Suspects are presumed innocent.
