Gazeta Wyborcza: Poland did not extradite alleged Russian saboteur. Russia tried to pass him off as a serious criminal

Poland has not extradited an alleged Russian spy, who Russia has put on the international wanted list as a “criminal”. The case concerns the arson of courier packages at European airports.

The saboteurs tried to check the routes of courier companies, the delivery of packages, security measures, delivery times and deadlines, so that they could also send packages with detonators to the United States and Canada.

This is reported by the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza, citing sources in law enforcement agencies.

In 2024, law enforcement investigated a series of parcel bombings in the British city of Birmingham, Leipzig in Germany, and near the Polish capital of Warsaw. Russian intelligence services were suspected.

Gazeta Wyborcza writes about a Russian named Oleksandr B., who is believed to be Oleksandr Bezrukavyi, who was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina last year. Three Ukrainians are also suspected of working for Russian intelligence in the parcel scheme.

Bezrukavy was detained without a passport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From where he allegedly tried to get to Serbia, and then to Russia. Polish services had been looking for him since August 2024, after they established that he was the coordinator of Russian subversive activities.

He was detained by local authorities, who then received two extradition requests — both from Poland and Russia. Warsawʼs request was granted. Moscow claimed that he was a serious criminal and wanted, and then submitted a new request to the Polish authorities.

The Russian Dossier Center wrote that Alexander Bezrukavyi coordinated the GRU cell in Poland and was indeed a recidivist. In Russia, he was convicted of illegal possession of weapons, burglary, robbery, and drugs.

Gazeta Wyborcza writes that Oleksandr B. previously obtained a residence permit in Spain by presenting a fake marriage certificate to a woman who runs a travel agency in Ukraine. In reality, she was his mistress, but he had a wife in Russia, where his fictitious marriage certificate was issued.

"Russian services did not pursue him at all. This is a lie," the newspaperʼs sources told the outlet.

They added that he could not have legalized his stay in the Schengen area if the Kremlin had been pursuing him for a long time. In addition, a Russian court issued an arrest warrant after the man was detained in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We have several Russian saboteurs in custody, but their clients are only demanding one. They donʼt even worry about the others," a source told Gazeta Wyborcza.

The man is accused of participating in Russian intelligence activities and preparing terrorist activities, according to sources. Polish law enforcement officials are confident that the evidence will allow them to be sentenced to long prison terms.

They also believe that the extradition requests are a signal to Russian spies that Russia “will not abandon them”.

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