‘ILLEGAL AGENT’

Suspected Russian Spy Posing as Brazilian Citizen Arrested in Norway

The alleged operative, who has not been identified publicly, worked as an unpaid guest researcher at the University of Tromsoe.

Police in Norway on Tuesday announced the arrest of a suspected Russian spy posing as a Brazilian citizen. The alleged operative, who has not been identified publicly, worked as an unpaid guest researcher at the University of Tromsoe, according to Reuters. He was part of a team that studied “hybrid threats” in the Arctic, Norwegian Police Security Service Deputy Chief Hedvig Moe told the outlet. Moe described the suspect as an “illegal agent,” which is someone who assimilates into enemy society under an assumed identity, or “non-official cover,” as opposed to a spy who works openly at an embassy or consulate but obfuscates their true position by way of a non-intelligence cover job. “It is a long-term project to have an illegal agent,” said Moe. “It costs a lot of money. Major state actors only use them and it is known Russia has used them in the past.”