Aftonbladet: two Russians detained in Sweden, suspected of espionage

The Swedish police have detained two Russian nationals and suspect them of espionage, their official report says.

“One of the detainees is suspected of aggravated illegal intelligence activities against Sweden and aggravated illegal intelligence activities against a foreign country. The other is suspected of aiding and abetting,” the police said in a statement.

The two were detained near Stockholm and their home searched. The police were using two helicopters during the operation.

The detained individuals are immigrants from Russia, Aftonbladet says. They are a married couple who arrived in Sweden in the late 1990s. The man could have been involved in espionage for the last 10 years, while the woman could have assisted him, says the Swedish media outlet. The two have been running a business selling industrial technologies in the country all this time.

Russia’s Dossier Centre and Sweden’s Expressen say that the couple in question are Sergey Skvortsov, 59, and Yelena Kulkova, 58.

Over the past month, 10 Russian nationals have been detained in northern Norway (where strategic facilities are located) for suspicious activity that might be beneficial to the Russian government. Furthermore, Norwegian journalists noted that the Russian Orthodox Church had acquired several properties not far from military bases in Norway at once.