Switzerland extradites suspected espionage agent to Germany

Switzerland extradites suspected spy to Germany Keystone-SDA

Switzerland has extradited a suspected espionage agent to Germany, more than seven months after his arrest.

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The suspect was brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.

According to earlier statements by the authorities, the accused and two accomplices are said to have agreed to commit arson and explosives attacks on the transport of goods in Germany with several people allegedly commissioned by Russia.

+ How the Swiss intelligence service fights espionage

The Ukrainian nationals were to “work together to send parcels from Germany to recipients in Ukraine containing explosive or incendiary devices that would ignite during transport”.

One of them had posted two test parcels in Cologne at the end of March, which contained GPS trackers, among other things. According to the investigation, the order was given by the man who has now been presented in Karlsruhe.

The Attorney General had him arrested in mid-May in the Swiss canton of Thurgau. He was transferred from there to Germany on Tuesday.

Not the only incident

The two accomplices also arrested in Cologne and Constance in May were brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Supreme Court months ago. Both were remanded in custody.

+ One in four Russian diplomats ‘spying in Switzerland’

Experts and authorities such as the Federal Intelligence Service and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had repeatedly warned of Russian sabotage and espionage in recent months.

Among other things, an air freight package caught fire on the ground at a logistics centre in Leipzig in 2024 and not during the flight. The parcel contained an incendiary device that ignited there and set fire to a freight container.

Adapted from German by DeepL/mga

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