Britain charges sixth Bulgarian national in Russian spying investigation

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- British Metropolitan Police on Wednesday charged a sixth Bulgarian national living in London with spying for Russia.

Metropolitan Police said Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 38, was set to appear in Westminster Magistrates' Court Wednesday after he was arrested by Counter Terrorism Command on Feb. 7.

He is charged with "conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state."

Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command head Commander Dominic Murphy. said the arrest was made possible as a result of information obtained following the arrest of five other people accused of spying for Russia.

Those five include Orlin Roussev, 46; Biser Maksimov Dzambarov, 42; Katrin Nikolayeve Ivanova, 33; Ivan Iliev Stoyanov, 32 and Vanya Nikolaveva Gaberova, 29.

They are due to stand trial in October.

Murphy emphasized that Ivanchev had not been convicted and that the media should avoid sensationalizing the arrest.

"Mr. Ivanchev has the right to a fair trial," said Murphy, "we would therefore urge people not to publish anything - on social media or in news media - that creates a substantial risk of seriously prejudicing these active criminal proceedings."

In August, Dzambarov, Roussev and Ivanova were charged under the Official Secrets Act with working for Russian intelligence.

Dzambarov and Ivanova were believed to have been a married couple who had lived in Britain for about a decade.

Metropolitan Police said the five people previously arrested as part of the investigation