France Arrests Suspected Russian Spy in Drone Plant

French authorities confirmed on Friday that a Belarusian man has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.

French outlet Le Figaro, citing comments from the Paris prosecutor’s office, said the 48-year-old Belarusian native was caught on June 3 filming a prototype drone made by an arms maker that supplies drones to Ukraine.

Prosecutors said the man sent the video to someone in Russia.

“[The man was arrested] while filming a prototype drone belonging to a company that supplies the French and Ukrainian armed forces,” the prosecutor’s office told Le Figaro.

“The investigation conducted by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) established that he had sent a video to someone in Russia,” it added.

Citing “a source close to the investigation,” Le Figaro said the man lives in Spain and was caught filming at drone maker Delair’s factory in Labège, near Toulouse.

The person added that the factory was targeted by Molotov cocktails that failed to explode two days prior to the suspect’s arrest.

The man is in pre-trial detention and has been charged with providing information to a foreign power, facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

However, Delair told the French outlet that the incidents did not affect its operations.

“The relevant authorities have taken charge of the matter; we have no further comment,” said Stéphane Douce, head of public relations at Delair.

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“Our business has not been impacted by these events and… we have taken all necessary measures to strengthen the security of our company’s assets and personnel,” he added.

Russia’s high-risk, aggressive espionage operations

The incident came amid warnings from European intelligence that Russia is shifting its spy efforts toward industrial espionage.

In late May, Christoffer Wedelin, deputy head of operations at the Swedish Security Service (Säpo), told the Associated Press that Russian agents operating abroad demonstrate an exact, highly calculated understanding of what their military-industrial complex requires to sustain its front lines.

According to a Finnish official, Russia is targeting space technology to restore and bolster its satellite communications following the recent Starlink outage, as well as maritime technologies to help ease the pressure of Western embargoes.

To circumvent Western export controls, Russian intelligence networks are said to be deploying a multi-layered system that includes cyber spies and state-backed hackers to infiltrate corporate databases, recruit local middlemen, and establish complex webs of front companies across neutral territories.

In June, Sweden also arrested a suspected spy said to have worked for Russian intelligence by offering highly classified information obtained through his work connected to Sweden’s Armed Forces.