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Le cueilleur Profile picture
@LCueilleur
Sep 30, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
Hunt for diplomatic pouch
#thread

The @tageblatt_lu has a story about a plane crash 40 years ago in Luxembourg. One important detail is missing: the interest Western intel services in the wreckage of the Aeroflot Flight 343. 1/7 tageblatt.lu/headlines/sieb…
7 passengers die in Luxembourg on 29 September 1982 when an Aeroflot IL-62M aircraft fails to land. The plane from Moscow was en route to Ireland, Cuba, Nicaragua and Peru via Luxembourg. In the luggage of the plane there is a lot of diplomatic pouches for the destinations 2/7
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) - Article 27 states: "The diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained.“ So it's not no baggage, and it's untouchable. However, for intelligence services it is a treasure. And this treasure lies in the wreckage of the IL-62M 3/7 Image
The then #SRE (Luxembourg State intel service )Chief of Operations Charles Hoffmann recalls a couple of men from off duty. They immerse in the chaos at the scene of the accident. Their target: the diplomatic pouch from Moscow. "Observers" from the US Embassy were also on site 4/7
An eyewitness observes men from the Soviet embassy searching the wreckage. He says there were people everywhere, even those who had no business being there. It is unclear whether the intelligence services from East and West found what they were looking for 5/7 Image
A 106-page #CIA study (date unknown) explains in detail how a Soviet embassy or mission works - including diplomatic pouch. Excerpt: „RIS (Russian Intel Services) pouch procedures are far too complicated to be described in this study.“ 6/7 Source: cia.gov/readingroom/do… Image
More background on the #SRE and the Soviets in Luxembourg👇 7/7

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More from @LCueilleur

Le cueilleur Profile picture
Nov 29
Russia is conducting active spy operations on the European continent. At various levels and with many means. This is shown in a recent report by @RadioTeleSuisse @SRF on the espionage activities of the Russian mission in Geneva in Switzerland. But there's more 1/5 Image
Discone antennas are installed on the roof of the Russian mission. They are used for local communication with members of the mission, but also specifically for counterintel. The discone antenna is used by intel services worldwide because of its wide bandwidth characteristics 2/5 Image
Among other things, they intercept radio signals from enemy intelligence services. It is used for self-protection and for the detection of local surveillance units. (RTS screenshot) 3/5 Image
Read 5 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Aug 20
One of Munich's most famous landmarks is Karlsplatz/Stachus. During the Cold War, it was a centre of intelligence services. Nowhere else in the city was the density of espionage as high as there. Even a #KGB murder plot took place there. Here is an overview 👇1/8 Image
1. #OrganisationGehlen (Org.) cover firm Gloria Film Verleih GmbH at Karlsplatz 7. For years, the cinema and film distribution company serves as a cover for operations and staff. The cinema Gloria Palast at Stachus still exists today 2/8
2. #Bundesnachrichtendienst BND cover agency Bundesstelle für Fernmeldestatistik - BFSt at Karlsplatz 7a at Stachus. Active in the 1970s.  In most cases, the cover BFSt served the telecommunication-electronic surveillance centres. The office was relocated in the 1980s 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Jul 9
Beijing's ears in Munich
#thread

The interception of enemy communications is an important element of China's espionage techniques. In recent years, Beijing has invested a lot of money in new #SIGINT stations around the world. China's ears are also growing in Europe 1/14 Image
Almost 10 years ago, China opened a new Consulate General in Munich, Hofmannstraße 57. The largest of its kind in Europe. The equipment on the roof has also been expanded over the last 5 years. Security experts suspect #SIGINT activities behind this and more 2/14
Image
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Security experts suspect that one dish is used for #SIGINT operations. The other is used to transmit the collected data to China. Both dishes are located on rotating heads (racking rotor). Main targets are likely to be the Middle East and the African continent 3/14 Image
Read 14 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Feb 2
Horst Schwirkmann died a year ago today. He was a long-time #Bundesnachrichtendienst staff member and an expert in radio defence (Funkabwehr). An absolute master of his trade. To this day he is the only officially known victim of a Soviet poison gas attack on a #BND employee 1/8 Image
He survived but his recovery was long and painful. Moscow 1963, the West German embassy was extensively bugged by the #KGB. At the time Horst Schwirkmann was an electronics specialist at the #BND's Central Cipher Centre - Zentralstelle für das Chiffrierwesen (ZfCh) in Bonn 2/8
His job: to track down bugs and other hidden #KGB microphones. He quickly finds what he is looking for. The #BND bug sweeper uses a trick on the mass of microphones. He injects a very high voltage into the microphone cable 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Dec 20, 2023
The SIGINT water tower
#thread

An inconspicuous water tower in the direct vicinity of the Soviet embassy in Bonn plays an important role in the #ColdWar. It was a secret listening post for years. Radio signals from the embassy were intercepted here 1/7 Image
In 1975, the Soviet embassy moves to Viktorshöhe in Bonn. A new building is quickly erected on the site. USSR technicians rapidly expand the #SIGINT capacities on the buildings. The location on the hill is ideal for interception operations 2/7
The West German intel services, with the help of the US, are also very interested in information from the new embassy. The phone lines are tapped. The entrances to the embassy grounds are monitored with video cameras. Secret equipment is installed in the neighbouring houses 3/7
Read 8 tweets
Le cueilleur Profile picture
Dec 26, 2022
The current espionage case in the #Bundesnachrichtendienst shakes the NATO intelligence community. There could hardly be a worse time than now. The alleged spy is said to be a senior staff member from the top-secret #BND SIGINT division 1/9
The person works there in the evaluation department, according to media reports. On European soil, the #BND is one of the big players with its #SIGINT capacities. He is an important intelligence tool in the work against Russia in the Ukraine war 2/9
In view of the war in Ukraine, the current espionage case could turn into a disaster for the #BND. Partner services cut off the flow of information. Trust is gone. This is likely to paralyse the work of the BND for years - much to Moscow's advantage 3/9
Read 9 tweets

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