Three arrested for espionage in Serbian weapons factory

BELGRADE: Three engineers employed in a weapons factory were arrested Monday in Serbia under suspicion of spying for a “foreign organisation”, the interior ministry said.

The three suspects are former or current engineers in Krusik, a state-owned factory headquartered in Valjevo, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Belgrade, that produces defence-related equipment, weapons and ammunition.

According to some reports, Serbia has exported ammunition that ended up in Ukraine through third parties - something Belgrade never confirmed. The suspects committed criminal offences “by taking out confidential business-technical documentation from this company without authorisation and handing it over to a foreign organization,” the police said.

According to the police, their actions were “to the detriment of security, defence, military and other interests, as well as weakening the power of the Republic of Serbia.” The arrest was coordinated with local police and military and domestic intelligence services in cooperation with the Valjevo Prosecutor´s Office, the statement said.