UK police probe case of critically ill alleged ‘ex-Russian spy’
London, (MILLAT ONLINE):British police reported a “major incident” on Monday after a man London media said was a Russian who had allegedly spied for Britain was in critical condition following “suspected exposure to an unknown substance”.
The BBC and other media named the victim as 66-year-old Sergei Skripal who was in hospital along with an unidentified woman. There were also news reports claiming the two had been exposed to a deadly opioid in an incident on Sunday.
A former colonel with Russian military intelligence, Skripal was sentenced in 2006 to 13 years in jail in Russia on charges of spying for Britain, but was granted refuge in the UK following a spy swap between the United States and Russia in 2010.
Police said the pair — a man aged in his 60s, and a woman in her 30s — remain in intensive care after they were found unconscious on a bench in a shopping centre in Salisbury, a city 85 miles (137 kms) southwest of London.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden of the Wiltshire police said the force “received a call from a member of the public who was concerned for the welfare of two people.”
“The pair, who we believe are known to each other, did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital,” he said.
“They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance” he said, adding that they were “in a critical condition.”
Holden said because the investigation was in its very early stages, “we are unable to ascertain whether or not a crime has taken place.”