BRITISH intelligence officers turned a Russian spy posing as a plumber into a double agent and gained access to secret communication channels between Moscow and Tehran.
The three-month operation culminated earlier this month with discovery that Iran had sent Fath 360 ballistic missiles to Russia in return for technology for its nuclear programme.
In a storyline that could come from the pen of John le Carre, the intelligence coup centred around a Russian agent posing as a plumber on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
The Russian mole – codenamed “Sunshine 24’ – had set himself up as a sole trader in Pathos
A popular tourist resort on the island’s southwest coast, the city is only a fifteen-minute drive from Britain’s main military base RAF Akrotiri and is a popular watering hole for both RAF and American U2 spy plane personnel.
Sunshine 24 had been instructed to offer his services to both RAF personal and British soldiers based at the Dhekelia Cantonment which houses several army units.
Unbeknownst to him, however, his cover was blown, and British intelligence officers began the work of turning the tables.
This involved spying on Sunshine 24’s movements and discovering his love of sea fishing.
Finally, in the middle of May, the trap was sprung.
The operation began with a phone call to the middle-aged plumber.
It was placed by an British intelligence officer posing as an anxious resident whose bedroom had been flooded by overflowing water.
With an excellent command of the English language, Sunshine 24 struck up conversation with the British spy, and it soon emerged they both held a mutual love of fishing.
Within in week, both men had taken to the Mediterranean for the first time, enjoying the bounty of bream, sea bass, and even tuna which the Limassol waters contain.
The British spy had another catch on his mind, however, and as they fished, so did he continue to trawl for information.
The friendship blossomed over the next few weeks, with the MI6 officer gaining more compromising intelligence – intelligence which could always be turned over to Sunshine’s Russian paymaster if he proved to be uncooperative.
This included rumours that Iran an Russia were preparing to make their nefarious deal.
Finally, in July, he played his hand, knowing that, by now, he had enough compromising information to successfully land his catch.
An offer was made to Sunshine 24: help to live another life in return for detailed information allowing access to signal intelligence between Russian and Iran.
Sunshine 24 agreed.
Though sources would not divulge the information he gave it allowed a GCHQ listening post on the island to intercept the crucial message in September that Russia had provided Iran with nuclear secrets for its programme, in return for the short range Fath 360 ballistic missiles vital to Russia, war effort in Ukraine.
The news, announced during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to London on September 10, resulted in more sanctions imposed on Iran and warning, last week, by Foreign Secretary David Lammy that the missiles “changed the debate” over whether to allow Ukraine to fire long range missiles deep into Russia.
A Whitehall sources said: “this operation shows that even modern technology cannot surpass the usefulness of traditional tradecraft methods.
“To use a cliche, the spider cleverly enticed the fly into its web.”