Halkidiki: Russian spy hideout exposed – arms dealers agents – Newsbomb – News

The death of a Czech citizen of Russian origin revealed the hiding of Russian spies in Halkidiki some time ago..

The 62-year-old, together with his wife, were the owners of a villa in Nea Scioni, in which, from time to time, members of the execution squad, which operated mainly in the Balkans, took refuge.

As he revealed Tasos Telloglou in ANT1's main newscast, The sudden death of a Russian-born Czech citizen in Halkidiki on February 29 raised alarm among Western intelligence and Greek security officials.

When 62-year-old Nikolai Sapoznikov was taken by ambulance to the health center of Cassandria at 10.45pm, he was unconscious.

He was already dead, toxicology tests were carried out on him, and then his case was taken over by state security.

Cardiac arrest cases are often not covered by insurance. But Isotope “The Insider” reveals, Sapoznikov, who worked for the Czech arms trading company IMEX until 2022, had ties to the GRU, the Russian military's intelligence agency..

In the early 90s, Saboznikov and his wife Elena received political asylum in the Czech Republic and became Czech citizens, and in 2008 bought this large property in New Scioni for 275,000 euros. , 320 square meters on 4.5 acres. In which they often receive visits from their friends.

Christo Groszef, internal inspector, says: “It was bought in 2008 2009 at the same time as this unit was built. So basically we see a parallel creation of a facility that will then be applied to the unit members. We see members of the unit travel to Thessaloniki and visit this house. Villa Elena, it was called as early as 2012, maybe earlier, but you're looking at 2012, 13, 14, 15. We see a member of the unit visit it shortly before an operation in neighboring Bulgaria in 2015. His name is Alexey Kabino, Ms Shaboshnikova says is a family friend, but he is a member of the unit.”

In 2011, a few hundred kilometers away in Lovindol, Bulgaria, there was an explosion at a weapons depot, where Bulgarian Emilion Gebrev and the Saboznikovs knew each other. In October and December 2014, IMEX warehouses in the Czech Republic were blown up.

Heavy damage, 2 killed. The crime has remained unsolved for years. But the Czechs discovered too late that Sapoznikov had brokered entry for two members of the GRU hit squad, posing as buyers at IMEX. A few days ago, the couple met with the head of the department, Andrey Averyano, in Lisbon.

Internal investigator Christo Groszef continues, “In fact, we discovered that about ten days before the first outbreaks in the Czech Republic in October 2014, the family had taken a vacation trip to Lisbon, Portugal. At the same time that Czech journalists approached the Saboshnikov family, Andrea Vranov traveled undercover with a passport for spies. Based on this information, they first said that Mr. Averianov did not know anyone. And these are all rumours. Later, in later testimony, they said it was a purely accidental friendly meeting, that they shared a common interest in history and history, old antique weapons, and that they were fair. Wanders around antique shops in Lisbon looking for antique pistols. Well, their story kept changing.

Two prospective arms buyers of IMEX tried to kill Elena Shaboznikova, who denied any connection with Russian services, four years later when she tried to poison Sergei Skripal. He last testified to Greek authorities in 2023. But now the Czechs have come up with a new invention.

“The Insider” researcher Christo Grosev also notes, “The facts now include the spy passport used by Ms. Shaboshnikova. Consider a request to arrest the remaining family member and hand me over to the Czech authorities for further investigation. I hope the Greek prosecutors will consider this request.”

Elena Saboznikova is now looking for Halkidiki property. The starting price of Villa Elena is said to be 3 million euros.