What Was Operation Ghost Stories? The Saga Behind the Vienna Spy Swap
In the secret world of espionage, reality often surpasses fiction. Such was the case of the FBI’s Operation Ghost Stories.
The gripping tale of Russian spies arrested on US soil unfolded like an espionage thriller, reminding the world that the Cold War's echoes still reverberate in the modern era.
It was June 2010 when the news broke - a network of 10 Russian spies, deeply embedded in American society, had been arrested. It was the culmination of an FBI operation that had spanned more than a decade. The spies, referred to as ‘illegals’, were agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
In fact, some experts believe there were 15 agents in the spy ring in all, 13 operating in the US and two more arrested in 2011 in Germany. Their paymaster, known as Christopher Metsos, was arrested in Cyprus, bailed, and vanished before he could be tried or extradited to the US.
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