Operation Spear, which was conducted in a building south of Stockholm, according to Stefan Hector, head of the Swedish police national operative department, took less than a minute. He claimed that this was necessary because the suspects “should not be able to flush anything down the toilet or destroy computers.”
On November 22, two people were detained in a predawn operation in the Stockholm region on suspicion of espionage. The authorities provided scant information regarding the case, but witnesses who saw elite police rappel from two Black Hawk helicopters to apprehend a couple who had allegedly spied for Russia were quoted by Swedish media. One of the two was charged with “gross illegal intelligence activities against Sweden and against a foreign power,” according to Sweden’s prosecution authority. The prosecutor omitted naming the alleged target nation. The investigation “has been ongoing for some time,” according to Sweden’s security service.
This action come after the detention of two brothers of Iranian descent who were arrested earlier this month in Sweden on suspicion of spying for Russia. Both of them were naturalised Swedes, and one of them was employed by Sweden’s domestic spy agency. They were accused of spying approximately about 8 to 10 years for the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.
