Two Russians and a Ukrainian have been arrested for allegedly spying on a military factory in southern Albania, authorities said.
The country’s defense ministry said a Russian man, identified only as a 24-year-old man with the initials MZ, was arrested after entering the grounds of the Gramsh factory, 80 km south of the capital, Tirana, and taking pictures. .
Two factory guards were injured when the Russian used what he said was a “neo-paralyzing spray” while resisting arrest, the ministry added in a statement.
Another Russian woman, identified as ST, 33, and a Ukrainian, FA, 25, were detained outside the compound and their vehicle was blocked, the ministry said.
“Three citizens with Russian and Ukrainian passports attempted to enter the factory,” the ministry said in a statement sent to media.
“The officers guarding the factory reacted immediately, but during their efforts to arrest the three foreign nationals, two of our soldiers were injured,” the statement said.
The two guards injured by the spray were taken to hospital for medical treatment where their condition is “stable”, he added.
Military police, army intelligence police and civilian and counter-terrorism police are jointly investigating.
The Gramsh military factory originally produced AK-47, or Kalashnikov, rifles after it opened in 1962. After the collapse of communism in 1990, production ended and it was used to dismantle old Kalashnikovs and other small arms.
The Department of Defense website only states that currently the factory provides manufacturing services for the defense industry.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on Twitter: “What pride for the military guards who neutralized three suspected espionage individuals… Now let’s wait for the full clarification of this event.”
Albania, ruled by a communist government from 1946 to 1990, has been a member of NATO since 2009.
He strongly denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and joined in US and European sanctions against Moscow.
