SOFIA: Bulgarian prosecutors on Friday said six people had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, including several defence ministry officials in the EU and NATO member state.

The officials are accused of passing classified information to the head of the alleged spy ring, an ex-intelligence officer.

His wife, who has joint Russian-Bulgarian nationality, “played the role of intermediary between (the ex-officer) and the embassy of the Russian Federation,” prosecution spokeswoman Siyka Mileva told a press conference.

She said the wife allegedly passed on confidential information about Bulgaria and its EU and NATO partners to “an employee of the Russian embassy”, who in turn gave her money to pay the network. It was “the first time in our recent history” that such a spy ring had been uncovered, Mileva added.

Investigators say recordings of conversations between members of the group bear out the allegations.

An earlier official statement had said two members of the military had been involved, but prosecutors clarified that this in fact referred to three officials at the ministry of defence, adding they had incriminating video tapes of them.

Among those arrested Friday was also a former military attache, currently in charge of classified information at Bulgaria’s parliament.