Lithuanian citizen collected information about military aviation for KGB

It is not ruled out that the Belarusian KGB passed it to Russian security services.

The Lithuanian Prosecutor General's Office held a press conference on November 10 to answer questions about a citizen of Lithuania suspected of spying for another state. Gediminas Grina, the head of Lithuania's State Security Department (SSD), and Deputy Prosecutor General Darius Raulušaitis, arrived at the press conference to tell journalists about the high-profile case, ru.DELFI.lt reports.

Before the press conference, the media only knew that Lithuanian citizen R. L. had been arrested during a large counter-intelligence operation. The prosecutor's office and the State Security Department gave more details.

“A citizen of Lithuania was charged with spying for Belarus on the order of Belarusian security services,” Raulušaitis said.

According to him, another similar case is being investigated. The Lithuanian authorities hope the second case would soon be submitted to a court. The persons suspected of spying were arrested, Raulušaitis notes.

SSD head Gediminas Grina told journalists the operation lasted almost three years. “It was a rather difficult operation. Counter-intelligence officers demonstrated their comprehensive knowledge during the operation,” he said.

Rolandas Kiškis, the chief of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, said enough evidence to prove the facts of spying was collected.

Employee of a company dealing with flight control

Raulušaitis said two persons suspected of spying were detained and called a place of work of one of them. “The man worked for a company dealing with flight control,” he said.

According to Raulušaitis, R.L., a resident of Vilnius, was detained a year ago. The law-enforcement agencies don't say whether the man tried to get access to information about NATO forces.

Kiškis says the spies were interested in both civil and military aviation. Prosecutors, the police and the SSD do not reveal information about possible damage. “We cannot say what we know,” Grina added.

It is still unknown to public for what country the second detained man spied. SSD head Grina confirmed the military counter-intelligence agencies were involved in the operation.

Russia could use information

SSD head Grina doesn't hide Russia could use the information collected by the spies, because “Belarus and Russia are allies”.

Deputy Prosecutor General Raulušaitis agrees with this assumption. “Belarusian special services are likely to share their information with Russian services,” he said.

No more information was given about the second suspect. The investigation in his case is expected to be completed in a few weeks or a few months, in the worst case scenario. “Both are citizens of Lithuania,” Raulušaitis said.

“The incident shows that the functions performed by the country's security bodies are important taking into account the increased security threat in the region. Other details will be revealed during the trial. We must give a court an opportunity to do its work,” Evelina Butkutė-Lazdauskienė, a spokesperson for PM Algirdas Butkevičius, quoted his comment.