The Belgian authorities have detained for the first time an unarmed Russian intelligence agent accused of passing state secrets to Moscow, local media reported, BTA reported.
It is specified that the operation to monitor and detain the accused lasted several months. The Antwerp court confirmed the measure imposed, but did not provide any details on the case.
It is known that the detainee is 46 years old and was recruited on the Internet. His activities were established by the Belgian military counterintelligence.
Last year, the security services in Germany and France warned that Russia was hiring "disposable agents" for espionage and sabotage for small sums of money, without the recruits having any prior training and without knowing in whose service they are acting.
According to experts from European services, the Russian side resorted to this move because of the expulsion of nearly 600 Russian diplomats from the EU after the start of the Russian military attack on Ukraine.