By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:24 PM on 28th June 2010
Ten alleged Russian spies have been arrested in the United States.
Eight were held for allegedly carrying out long-term, deep cover assignments on behalf of the Kremlin.
Two others were arrested for allegedly participating in the same Russian intelligence programme within the U.S., the Justice Department announced.
Each of the ten was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison on conviction.
Nine of the defendants were charged in New York with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum 20 years in prison.
FBI agents arrested two defendants known as Richard Murphy and Cynthia Murphy in Monclair, New Jersey. The pair were due to appear in Manhattan’s federal court last night.
Three other defendants were being taken to federal court in Manhattan – Vicky Pelaez and a defendant known as ‘Juan Lazaro’ who were arrested at their residence in Yonkers, New York, and Anna Chapman, who was arrested in Manhattan.
Eight of the ten were arrested on Sunday.
The criminal complaint states that the plot has been in existence since the mid-1990s, meaning it has been going on for at least 10 years.
It specifically names the SVR as the agency which is behind putting agents, or 'illegals', in the US - but the details read like something out of a spy novel.
According to the complaint, filed by Maria Ricci, a special agent with the Counterintelligence arm of the FBI, the spies:
used advanced steganography software to send encrypted messages to
each other by hiding them on publicly available websites.
used short wave radios and codes to send messages to each other
used wi-fi in cafes and bookshops to covertly communicate with
Russian agents parked in a van close by
used and perfected the 'brush pass', a clandestine way of handing
over items as one person passes another, which is known as a 'flash
meeting'.
hoarded up to £50,000 in cash in their homes
wrote messages in invisible ink that they sent to Russian agents in
South America
met an employee of the US government with regards to nuclear weapons
research and other high-ranking officials.
tried to get jobs in firms which gave them access to those who knew
state secrets
buried in the ground which could later be picked up by other agents.
received money from an official associated with the Manhattan-based
Permanent Mission to the United States.
used false documents to travel into and out of the United States and
took the identities of dead Americans to help them carry out their mission.
The agents are also said to have been schooled in Morse Code and how
to cover their tracks so they left no evidence.
Their mission was spelled out in one communication sent to two of the
defendants: 'Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc. - all these serve one goal: fullfil your main mission, i.e to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intels' to the Moscow Centre', the Kremlin's spy HQ.
Of particular interest was Anna Chapman who on ten occasion entered the Russian Mission to the United Nations and sent messages to agents via a private wi-fi network. On other occasions she would sit outside a coffee shop or go inside a book store whilst a van with a Russian agent in it parked up nearby, allowing them to share the same wi-fi.
In a series of 'info tasks', Russia is said to have given the spies assignments. In one for May and June, they had to 'gather information with regard to the use of the Internet by terrorists, United States policies in Central Asia and Western estimation of Russian foreign policy'.
Russia's embassy said it was unaware of the arrests and is seeking more information.
White House advisers believe that, under the leadership of former KGB hardman Vladimir Putin, no other country is as aggressive as Russia in trying to obtain U.S. secrets, with the possible exception of China.
S.O. wrote:....or Israel ?...
An eleventh suspect, named as Christopher R. Metsos, remained at large, the Justice Department said.
