The suspects include five Polish nationals aged 25 to 52 and a 37-year-old Russian woman, Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister in charge of Poland's security services, said in a post on X.
A court ordered four of the suspects detained on espionage charges, while the other two were placed under non-custodial preventive measures, Siemoniak said.
"The evidence gathered indicates that the detainees carried out activities on behalf of Russian intelligence services and took part in a scheme supporting the military potential of the Russian Federation," he wrote.
According to investigators, the group illegally supplied Russia with substantial quantities of military-use materials intended for the production of ammunition and weapons systems.
National Public Prosecutor's Office spokesman Przemysław Nowak said all six had been charged with participating in an organised criminal group whose purpose was to export ammunition components from Poland to Russia without the required permits.
The items included cartridge cases and projectiles, he said.
Four of the suspects also face charges of acting on behalf of Russian intelligence against Poland for financial gain by exporting the components to Russia and thereby strengthening its military capabilities, Nowak said.
The group operated in Poland, Lithuania and Russia from at least June 2023 until December last year, investigators found.
Its members were responsible for ordering and purchasing the goods, arranging their collection and transporting them to Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
The suspects made purchases, including through online stores, and used vehicles fitted with hidden compartments to transport the goods, Nowak said. They crossed the Polish-Russian border repeatedly, and Polish border guards intercepted some of the shipments, he added.
The value of the ammunition components purchased and illegally exported to Russia exceeded PLN 2 million (EUR 460,000, USD 510,000), the investigation found.
ABW officers searched 21 locations in northern and western Poland between October 21 and November 2, according to a statement.
Siemoniak said nearly 100 people had been designated suspects in espionage and sabotage investigations conducted by the ABW since January 1, 2024.
The increase in such activity was linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine and Poland’s support for Kyiv, as well as the use of Polish territory as a key transit route for supplies to Ukraine, he told reporters.
"This is not just smuggling, but also strengthening Russia's military potential," Siemoniak said. He added that Russian intelligence services were increasingly using criminal groups to carry out their activities.
"The world of Eastern intelligence services is increasingly intertwined with the criminal underworld — with people who are willing to do various things for money," he said, adding that this required heightened vigilance.
(gs)
Source: IAR/PAP, abw.gov.pl