Russian man photographed trains and infrastructure in Poland; court remands 55-year-old in custody
Police in Świdnica detained a 55-year-old Russian citizen suspected of espionage. His equipment contained hundreds of thousands of photographs of railway and transport infrastructure.
Officers interrupted railway line photography
The detained 55-year-old Russian citizen was charged with activity on behalf of a foreign intelligence service, according to rp.pl. The detention took place in Świdnica as a result of police intervention whilst patrolling the city after a football match had concluded. Officers noticed a Volkswagen parked at an unguarded railway crossing. The man at the vehicle became nervous upon seeing the uniformed officers and attempted to drive away quickly. Police officers followed in the same direction and encountered the same vehicle again near a railway viaduct.
Hundreds of thousands of infrastructure files
During the intervention, officers established that the man possessed professional photography equipment and was photographing trains and railway infrastructure. The seized equipment was sent for analysis, which was carried out by Świdnica police officers together with employees of the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime in Wrocław. During a search, hundreds of thousands of files containing photographs of railway, transport and production facilities were discovered, including those designated as critical—not only throughout Poland.
Three-month remand in custody
The 55-year-old was charged under Article 130, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. The prosecution alleges he photographed infrastructure elements with the intention of passing them to a foreign intelligence service. Police secured electronic equipment, mobile phones, laptops, portable drives and several identity documents. The gathered evidence allowed a request to be made to the court for the suspect's remand in custody. The court granted the request and ordered remand in custody for a period of three months. This type of offence carries a custodial sentence of not less than five years.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)