“Proxies and agents were recruited as part of a wider network. Precise numbers of those exposed as spies have not been reported. Though not naming the country involved, Burgess had said ASIO “detected and disrupted a major spy network”, which he likened to a “hive” as it was bigger and more dangerous than a “nest” of spies previously disrupted. On Tuesday, ASIO’s secretary-general of Security Mike Burgess described the uncovering of a spy network at the launch of his agency’s annual report. The Sydney Morning Herald February 23, 2023 The Russian embassy in Australia had not responded to a request for comment on Friday.ĪSIO was originally established in 1949 to probe the suspected leak of Australian government secrets to the then-Soviet Union, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.Įxclusive: Fake Russian diplomats revealed as heart of ‘hive’ spy ring in Australia
There were concerns that publicly expelling the spies could lead to retaliation by Moscow against diplomats and other Australians living in Russia. The Russian spies were quietly forced out of Australia over the past six months with their visas not renewed or cancelled, the newspaper reported. The ring had operated in Australia for 18 months before it was uncovered and its activities were broken up by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the country’s main domestic spy agency, the newspaper reported. The spy ring comprised purported embassy and consular staff as well as other operatives using deep-cover identities, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the operation. Australia has exposed and quietly expelled a large Russian spy ring whose members were posing as diplomats, a local newspaper has reported just days after Australia’s intelligence chief revealed that his agency had scored a major counterespionage success.
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