First joint operation conducted by Russian, US, and UK special services

An officer of the Russian Security Service /FSB/ officially confirmed that US FBI special units in collaboration with Russian FSB officers had detained on Tuesday an English citizen of Indian descent on suspicion of arms trafficking.

The detainee intended to sell a Russian Igla anti-aircraft system for criminal purposes, Sergei Ignatchenko, head of the FSB Public Relations Centre, currently in Washington, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying. The FSB representative did not specify the purpose and whether it had something to do with terrorist actions.

It is the first operation after the end of the Cold War carried out by Russian, US, and UK special services jointly, Ignatchenko pointed out.

The FSB official stressed the roles of Russian President Vladimir Putin, US Head of State George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in having tuned up cooperation among the three countries' special services over the last years.

The English citizen of Indian descent was kept under observation and his talks were recorded on video. Trying to sell the Igla system he claimed that it could bring down a passenger liner. Besides the seller knew that the client was an Islamic extremist. The fake client was an FBI officer, and the British national was arrested when he was striking up the illegal deal in Newark (New Jersey). During the arrest the special service officers confiscated one Igla system.

The international operation lasted for about a year with the participation of a US combined anti-terror squad, the FBI, the US customs service, and Russian and UK authorities.