Former head of intelligence section E-14, Ola Kaldager, believes Norway has been naive. – I was surprised that people were surprised, he says to news. – 20 years of naivety in Norway means that it has been quite free for Russians in general to run that type of business in Norway. The business he is referring to is espionage. On Tuesday, a man was arrested in Tromsø, suspected of being a Russian spy with a Brazilian passport. – The way it has been done, that he has a different passport, is typical. You get a “cover story” and pretend to be a different person than you are. And then it’s all right, in Norway, he says soberly. Kaldager is retired, and is currently deputy mayor for the party Gildeskållista in the municipality of Gildeskål in Nordland. The research group “The Gray Zone” at UiT focuses on preparedness, hybrid threats and total defence, to name a few. The suspected spy man was listed as an employee of this group on UiT’s website. Photo: Skjermdump / UiT – An easy switch Universities are a very easy place to conduct intelligence, is Kaldager’s impression after long experience in the Armed Forces and the intelligence service. – There are large environments where everyone has the right to have their opinions. You can choose how close you want to get to people. And then there’s a lot of interesting things to get hold of. That’s where researchers and politicians come in. You can acquire a lot of solid information that you can build on. UiT, for example, runs projects that deal with Norway’s interests and policy in the Arctic, as well as marine technology, in which Norway is among the world leaders. Ola Kaldager has several years of service abroad in the Norwegian Armed Forces behind him. For the last 10 years before his retirement, he was associated with the Norwegian Intelligence Service where he built up and led E-14, the section for special acquisition. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news Kaldager does not believe that the arrest of the suspected spy was a spontaneous act. – I would like to believe that this is the end of a long investigation and monitoring that PST has carried out over time before an arrest is made. – Especially in cases like this. Then you must have some facts to put on the table, and I would assume that they do. – Not unusual with multiple passports Arne O. Holm, editor of the newspaper High North News, says it is not unusual for Russians to have at least two citizenships. This in itself is therefore not necessarily sensational, he says. He nevertheless believes that the type of subject matter that “The Gray Zone” researchers deal with is an attractive intelligence target. Among other things, the researchers work on issues of preparedness and digital social security. – This is an area that we know is vulnerable, and attractive to Russia. He also points out that it is not at all certain that we will ever find out if the man is actually a Russian spy. – Then you would have had to have had a trial. The way it is now set up, the man will be sent out of the country. Without us getting any judgement. And this is common in spy cases, that you are simply expelled. Arne O. Holm has extensive press experience as a news journalist, department head and editor at Dagbladet, Dagens Næringsliv and news. The newspaper High North News focuses on the northern regions. Photo: Bernt Olsen / news Holm believes that Russia will object to the deportation if the man is actually a Russian citizen. – They usually respond by deporting some Norwegians. If there are Norwegians left in Russia who have not been expelled already then, because there have been quite a lot of them since Russia attacked Ukraine. He does not necessarily think there is any connection between the arrival of the suspected man and the major computer attack that UiT was exposed to a few months later. – There is continuous hacking of Norwegian institutions and attempts to influence. But we have to distinguish a little between these matters that are happening at the moment. He refers, among other things, to the many arrests in connection with drone flights. – These are matters that are not connected in any other way than that it appears that Russia is behind it. – This is a difficult balancing act. What worries me is that we may get a number of cases that stigmatize Russians in Norway. Who are here for completely different reasons than being spies for Putin. It cannot be that easy to be an ordinary Russian in Norway now, he says and continues: – They can thank their despot for that. But if we are to move forward one day or another, it is the innocent Russians we must take care of and protect, and not stigmatize. – Impressive work Geir Hågen Karlsen, lieutenant colonel at the Norwegian Defense Academy says that if the suspected spy is illegal, this is an impressive capture by PST. Geir Hågen Karlsen, lieutenant colonel at the Norwegian Defense College. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news – Many years have been spent building such a hidden identity and there are very few cases where such have been caught. Never in Norway, as far as I know, says Hågen Karlsen. The lieutenant colonel refers to an incident in the USA: In 2010, the FBI rolled up a Russian network of illegals and agents. The most talked about of them was Anna Chapman, who was arrested in New York, accused of espionage on behalf of Russia. If the man had not been exposed, and it turns out that PST is right about the man’s background, he could have operated in Norwegian society for many years, Hågen Karlsen believes. Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness Emilie Enger Mehl points out that the government has put in extra resources to meet the spy threat. – The government has strengthened the police and PST precisely to uncover and prevent espionage and sabotage, with a particular focus on Northern Norway. – It is important and correct that the services follow this up in a good way.
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Ola Kaldager believes Norway has been naive, and is not surprised by a spy arrested in Tromsø – news Troms and Finnmark
