HIGH-LEVEL “SPY” ARRESTED IN KAZAKHSTAN.

Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) announced yesterday the arrest of an unnamed retired KNB major-general on charges of spying for an unnamed foreign power. On active duty until recently, the general is said to have been recruited as an agent for that country during an official trip abroad. His handlers were interested in the organization and activities of Kazakhstan’s intelligence services; the country’s political groups, the economic situation, and Kazakh-Russian relations–particularly the contentious issues between the two countries. According to the KNB, the general made frequent contact with his handlers during his travels to third countries. Moreover, his foreign recruiters established “several” dummy firms in Almaty in order to support the general’s intelligence-gathering. The unnamed general has now been turned over to a military court. According to some local observers, the announcement’s wording would seem to hint at China (Itar-Tass and other Russian agencies, January 26). Last year, in its first significant catch, the KNB apprehended a group of Iranian agents.

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