Six Bulgarian nationals, including two so-called “honeytrap” agents, are facing lengthy jail terms for operating a vast Russian espionage network out of a derelict guesthouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. The group, led by 47-year-old Orlin Roussev, was convicted of gathering sensitive intelligence and conducting hostile operations across the UK and Europe on behalf of Russian security services.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, who prosecutors said exploited their charm and appearance to lure targets, were among three operatives found guilty at the Old Bailey in March of conspiracy to conduct espionage. The third was 39-year-old competitive swimmer Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev. They will be sentenced this week alongside Roussev, his deputy Biser Dzhambazov, 44, and 33-year-old Ivan Stoyanov, all of whom admitted their roles in the plot.
The spy ring is alleged to have been directed by Jan Marsalek, a fugitive Austrian businessman and former Wirecard executive, who remains wanted by Interpol. He acted as a conduit between Moscow’s intelligence agencies and Roussev, the group’s UK-based coordinator. The gang’s clandestine activity spanned the UK, Spain, Germany, Austria and Montenegro, marking what security services have labelled one of the “most sophisticated and expansive” foreign intelligence operations uncovered on British soil in recent decades.
The court heard how Roussev referred to his operatives as “Minions” – a nod to the yellow animated characters – in communications recovered by investigators. The Minions were deployed in targeted surveillance missions, often relying on covert equipment including bugs concealed in everyday items such as rocks, Coke bottles, neckties, and even a Minions plush toy.
Gaberova, a self-described “lashes queen” who operated a London beauty salon, was allegedly earmarked to seduce a high-profile journalist to gain access to sensitive information. Ivanova, meanwhile, was romantically linked to both Roussev and Dzhambazov in what jurors heard was a love triangle fraught with internal tensions but leveraged for the group’s gain.
Among the gang’s more audacious plots was an attempt to intimidate the Kazakhstan embassy in London by flying a drone over the premises and dropping 100 litres of pigs’ blood onto its grounds. The group also conducted surveillance on dissidents and other persons of interest to the Russian state and were involved in the abduction of a man on British soil.
The group’s base of operations – a run-down guesthouse on the Norfolk coast – was found to contain a stash of spyware and disguised surveillance tools. Roussev called the location his “Indiana Jones garage” in encrypted chats, underscoring the scale and theatrical nature of the operation.
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The defendants have been held on remand since their arrests and are now facing sentences of up to 14 years under the Official Secrets Act. Their activities, which ran from 2020 until their apprehension in 2023, are believed to have posed serious threats to national security and diplomatic relations.
Sentencing is expected to commence on Wednesday at the Old Bailey, where prosecutors will push for custodial terms that reflect the severity and scale of their offences. The Crown Prosecution Service has reiterated that the dismantling of this spy network represents a significant blow to foreign intelligence threats operating within the UK.
As Britain continues to grapple with hybrid warfare tactics and state-sponsored espionage from hostile actors, this case serves as a stark reminder of the modern face of international spying — one that involves charm, technology, and, at times, blood-soaked intimidation.
