Five people suspected of spying for Russia are to be charged with conspiracy to conduct espionage.

Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Vanya Gaberova will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The Bulgarian nationals are accused of conspiring to gather information which would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023.

It follows an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

The defendants are alleged to have worked in an operational spy cell for the Russian security services and that this work involved conducting surveillance on targets.

They are accused of working on active operations in the UK and Europe and collecting and passing information to the Russian state.

Mr Roussev, 45, is alleged to have run operations from the UK and acted as the link to those who received the intelligence.

Officers who searched properties in London and Norfolk occupied by three of the defendants – Mr Roussev, Mr Dzhambazov, 41, and Ms Ivanova, 31 – found allegedly fake passport and official identity documents for the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.

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