Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) has announced that one Georgian citizen has been detained on charges of espionage in favor of a foreign country, while two other individuals will be charged in absentia.

According to the First Deputy Head of the SSS, Lasha Maghradze, the arrest followed counterintelligence operations conducted by the agency’s Counterintelligence Department. The detainee is accused of collecting and transmitting information under the instructions of a foreign intelligence service.

Maghradze stated that evidence gathered in the criminal case shows the suspect was recruited by a foreign intelligence agency and assigned a pseudonym. In exchange for financial compensation, the individual was instructed to collect various types of information against Georgia’s interests and pass it on to foreign intelligence operatives.

“The investigation established that the detainee had been tasked with gathering information in Georgia in the following areas:

The locations, forces, and capabilities of Georgia’s law enforcement agencies, including the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense, as well as taking photos and videos of their deployment sites;The location of strategic infrastructure in Georgia, including bridges, highways, railway lines, and other facilities, along with photographing and filming these sites,” Maghradze said.

He added that two other Georgian citizens have also been identified in connection with similar crimes. They were likewise recruited by the same foreign intelligence service and carried out tasks involving the collection and transfer of information harmful to Georgia’s interests.

Due to the nature of the case, a lengthy period of operational and investigative measures was required to fully examine the details of the alleged crime.

The detained individual will be charged under Article 314, Part 1 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which carries a sentence of 8 to 12 years in prison.

As for the two other suspects, who are currently outside Georgia, they will be charged in absentia under the same article. An international search will be initiated through Interpol for those individuals currently in hiding.