The sentencing hearing of six spies for Vladimir Putin’s Russia who operated for years on British soil has begun at the Old Bailey.
Orlin Roussev, 47, was the leader of the ring whose members were embedded in the UK and carried out operations which put lives and national security at risk.
Female operatives Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, were deployed as “honeytraps” against the group’s targets, a trial heard.
Roussev’s second in command was Biser Dzhambazov, 44, while competitive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, and Ivan Stoyanov, 33, completed the sextet.
The group’s operations are believed to have been directed by Russian agent Jan Marsalek, 44, an Austrian businessman wanted by Interpol after the collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard.
Marsalek acted as a go-between for Russian intelligence and Roussev, and took his instructions from the Kremlin. Prosecutors say Russian officials all the way up to President Putin himself were aware of the espionage activities.
It is believed to be one of the "largest and most complex" enemy operations to be uncovered on UK soil.
The network engaged in a series of surveillance and intelligence operations over three years, between 2020 and 2023, targeting journalists, Russian dissidents, and the Kazakhstan government.
The trial heard how lower members of the spy ring were referred to as Minions - characters from animated film Despicable Me.
The case also explored the complex love triangle between Dzhambazov, his partner Ivanova, and his ex-girlfriend, beautician Gaberova.
They targeted people and places of interest to the Russian state, and discussed using "lashes queen" Gaberova as a honeytrap to snare a high-profile journalist, dropped 100 litres of pigs' blood on the Kazakhstan embassy in London by drone, and kidnapped a man on UK soil.
Earlier this week, it was reported that three members of the spy ring were pictured at a Brexit event in Westminster in May 2016. The event took place before any of the events in the criminal case.
Roussev led the operation from a former guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in which detectives found a cache of spyware equipment and Roussev, in messages, referred to as his "Indiana Jones garage".
The defendants, who are in custody, face sentences of up to 14 years in jail for the activities in the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro.
Mr Justice Hilliard is overseeing the sentencing hearing which began on Wednesday afternoon with an opening statement from prosecutor Alison Morgan KC.
The judge is not expected to finally pass sentence until next week.
Before the trial, Dzhambazov, Roussev, and Stoyanov pleaded guilty to involvement in a conspiracy to spy. Ivanchev, Ivanova, and Gaberova were all convicted by a jury, having denied the same charge.
