Three suspected spies for Russia have been charged in London amid a major national security sweep in the United Kingdom.
UK Metropolitan Police confirmed the bust on Tuesday.
The defendants, two men and one woman, all Bulgarian nationals, were initially arrested by counter-terrorism officers in February along with two other suspects under Britain’s Official Secrets Act.
The trio have been identified as Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzambazov, and Katrin Ivanova.
They were charged with possessing identity documents with “improper intention” that they allegedly knew were fake. The documents included passports and I.D. cards for the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.
The trio appeared in July at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, also known as the “Old Bailey” in London, and were then remanded into custody until an unconfirmed future date.
Last month, Britain passed a new national security law aimed at preventing espionage and foreign interference through updated tools and provisions. At the time of the law’s passage, the government in the UK labeled Russia “the most acute threat” to its national security.
Last year, Britain’s domestic spy chief said more than 400 suspected Russian spies had been expelled from Europe.
