A spy for Vladimir Putin boasted of being like “James Bond character Q” before he was found with a hoard of alarming gadgets in his Norfolk hideout, a court has heard.
Orlin Roussev, 46, has pleaded guilty to running a spy ring on behalf of the Kremlin. Another man, Bizer Dzhambazov, has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collect information useful to an enemy.
Roussev had been living in a guesthouse on the coast of Great Yarmouth where he stored a “vast” array of spy tech reportedly used for kidnapping and surveillance missions across Europe, a court heard.
The Old Bailey also heard how he boasted to his associates that he felt like the James Bond character “Q” as he prepared “toys” he used for the spying operations for the Russians.
He is also accused of taking instructions from a handler called Jan Marsalek; a man wanted in connection with a £1.6 billion tech fraud linked to a company called Wirecard.
Police discovered additional surveillance equipment at a North London flat shared by Dzambazov and his partner Katrin Ivanova.
Detectives recovered thousands of items, including a black cap with a concealed camera, a one-litre plastic Coke bottle with a waterproof camera behind the label, and a surveillance camera.
A micro SD card was also hidden in a soft toy Minion character were also found at the flat.
Operation Skirp seized 3,540 exhibits for evidence from a number of addresses, including 1,650 digital exhibits.
A jury at the Old Bailey was shown a so-called “IMSI grabber” – a black metal box around the size of a large shoe box used to capture phone numbers from a nearby area with a staggering value of £120,000.
Another gadget, the Razor II, was made by an unknown manufacturer and had been adapted to include a battery that allowed it to be deployed anywhere and a wi-fi interface to allow remote communication.
A £40,000 system, dubbed “Stealth”, was a black box the size of a pencil case designed to be taken around and hidden under outer clothing.
The devices were described as “law enforcement grade”, and could be used to intercept or disrupt targeted mobile phone communications.
It can also detect mobile phone locations when used alongside a unit dubbed the Jugular 4, worth £15,000.
Other members of the alleged group, all Bulgarian nationals, have denied spying charges.
They include Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab assistant from Harrow north London, Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician from Acton, West London, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator from Enfield.
