Australian spies have arrested a Russian couple of Australian nationals in Brisbane and accused them of spying for Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The woman is a soldier in the Australian Armed Forces, but is alleged to have attempted to share top-secret information with Russian authorities during illegal travel abroad.
The woman is 40 years old and the man is 62. They were arrested at their home in Everton Park in Brisbane on Thursday morning.
They have each been charged with preparing an espionage offense, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
They will appear in Brisbane District Court later on Friday.
According to the AFP, the individuals worked together to gain access to Australian Defence Force material relating to Australia’s national security interests.
We allege that the woman made an undeclared journey to “Russia, while she was on extended leave from the Australian Armed Forces,” AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.
‘We allege that while in Russia she gave her husband, who remained in Australia, instructions on how to log into her official work account from their home in Brisbane.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess revealed details of the arrests during a joint press conference with the Australian Federal Police on Friday morning
“We allege that her husband would have access to the requested material and would send it to his wife in Russia. We allege that they requested that information with the intention of providing it to the Russian authorities.
‘Whether that information was transferred remains an important focus of our investigation.’
The spies insisted they intervened before any alleged breach occurred and warned that more arrests could follow.
“My warning is that we know who you are, you’ve probably already been exposed,” he said.
‘There’s a knock on your door and it could be someone with this patch on their shoulder, or it could be one of our other national security agencies.
“You will face shame and possibly a very long prison sentence.”
More to come
