Offer on Telegram
The full communicative began with the fact that the 17-year-old Canadian Laken P. responded to the occupation offer posted on the Telegram. The post was intended to concern a expected humanitarian organization, which was besides to operate in Russia. Following the instructions received, he reached Russia and Ukraine by Turkey.
When he was on the scene, the FSB officers stopped him. They gave him instructions and intelligence tasks. The service besides took his papers and phone, and they besides applied threats to him and his family. The cooperation was to warrant his apartment, Russian citizenship and salary. Laken P. agreed due to the fact that he was facing the wall.
First and final task
The first mission that the Canadian received was to cover his tracks in Russia. He was ordered to destruct his passport and make a fresh 1 in the Canadian consulate. This facility was to be located in 1 of the northern European countries.
The FSB provided him $1.8,000 and funds in cryptocurrency to cover operational expenses. Its task was to collect information on "sensitive targets" in Ukraine and yet to join the Ukrainian army.
However, in late May 2024 Laken P. appeared in Warsaw. After 2 days, under the influence of alcohol, he reported to the police, claiming to be acting as a “Russian spy”. The prosecution accused him of participating in an intelligence network against Poland, and the court sentenced him to a year and a half imprisonment.
Judgment comparatively mild
The prosecutor of Colonel Wojciech Skrzypek from the Mazowski Faculty of Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw explained that the comparatively mild conviction was due to the fact that the suspect had not been able to take intelligence action in Poland, and he besides reported to the police himself.
It should be noted here that this is not the first case of the usage of the Telegram by the FSB to recruit spies. In 2023 16 people were recruited in a akin way, who were to plan acts of sabotage in Poland. Since the fall of 2023, even life imprisonment is punishable for espionage in Poland.
