THE TELEGRAPH: Ten alleged secret agents of the Russian government living in "deep-cover" in the United States and engaged in Cold War-style espionage have been arrested in a coordinated operation by the FBI.
The FBI accuses the SVR, the successor organisation to the Soviet Union's KGB, of running a network of "illegals", described in court documents as Russians who received training in languages, codes and ciphers, invisible writing and counter-surveillance before living in the United States under false identities.
Each of the 10 was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison on conviction.
They were alleged to have met US government officials given codenames such as "Farmer", "Parrot" and "Cat" as well as engaging such tried and tested espionage methods as dead drops and brush passes.
The arrests come after President Barack Obama met his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Washington, praising him as a "solid and reliable partner" and taking him out to a burger restaurant.
As well as the 10 arrested in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia over the weekend, the FBI identified an eleventh suspect, known as "Christopher R. Metsos" who remains at large. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Monday, June 28, 2010
