The head of the Security and Intelligence Bureau of the Garda Síochána of Ireland said that russia is one of a small number of countries that spy in Ireland. UNN reports with reference to Ireland's National Public Service Media RTÉ.
Details
In an interview for RTÉ's "This Week" program, Assistant Commissioner Michael McElgunn, who heads the police unit responsible for state security, said that they are particularly concerned about states that engage in espionage on Irish sovereign territory.
According to him, these states, including russia, seek to support extremist groups and sow distrust in the government. They are also trying to steal state and industrial secrets, which undermines Ireland's reputation.
He acknowledged that countries spy on each other and assured that the Security and Intelligence Service works closely with other European intelligence services and controls the entry and exit of suspected spies into and out of the country.
This is how the world works. We have an obligation to investigate and counter threats from hostile states, which includes espionage within a state. We are committed to tracking specific threats. russia is one of those countries in which we are interested
The assistant commissioner said that the services also monitor China's activities, as the EU sees it as an economic competitor and a systemic rival on the world stage.
Police say that there are a number of Islamist extremist groups that they are monitoring in conjunction with European and American intelligence agencies. One of the most prominent is ISIS, which has called for attacks in continental Europe. He said that ISIS is present in Ireland, but managed to prevent the arrival of one of their suspected militants.
They are not focused on attacking, but are interested in financial and logistical support. We managed to prevent a major player from moving here
This group is a target for the Terrorist Financing Unit, which is part of the Special Detective Unit.
Recall
Reports of russian spy activity come from various European countries. In particular, the Czech Republic has been the target of hackers linked to russian military intelligence since 2023, exploiting a Microsoft Outlook vulnerability. The country condemned Russia and called for an end to cyberattacks.
In addition, in Bulgaria, a law enforcement officer was detained on suspicion of espionage by passing official information to a russian citizen, allegedly a former diplomat of the Russian Embassy in Sofia.
Also in Sweden, the Stockholm District Court convicted two men of aggravated espionage for russia.