A 23-year-old man has been detained for suspected espionage at the Bulgarian TPP “Maritsa Iztok 2”. The suspect, identified as a Ukrainian national, was found with multiple drones, mobile phones, cameras, SIM cards, and memory cards. According to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hristo Krastev, the man was apprehended by the plant’s security team within the facility. He has been held for 72 hours on charges of collecting information classified as a state secret, intended to be shared with a foreign country. Investigations are ongoing to determine if the devices contain any sensitive information and if this was his first intrusion into the plant.
“A 23-year-old man with Ukrainian documents was detained by the security of Maritsa Iztok 2 inside the thermal power plant itself. During a search, drones, mobile phones, cameras, SIM cards and memory cards were found. He was detained for 72 hours in his capacity of the accused for having collected information constituting a state secret with the aim of providing it to a foreign country. Expertises are being prepared whether he took photos of the strategic object and whether there is information constituting a state secret on these devices remand ‘detention in custody'” said the deputy chief prosecutor Hristo Krastev.
In a related briefing, officials provided details about a separate case involving a truck found in Novi Iskar containing 350 kg of marijuana. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Desislava Petrova stated that the National Police discovered the truck packed with vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana arranged in 44 boxes. No charges have been filed yet. The truck had crossed multiple state borders and was under constant surveillance by the police. Operational information had been received a month prior, leading to the identification of a transport company with suspicious shipments. The truck entered from Spain on June 15, stopped in Gotse Delchev for three days, and was eventually searched in Novi Iskar. Authorities believe the marijuana was intended for distribution within Bulgaria.