Three Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia while living in the UK have been arrested and charged, police have said. The defendants were among five people detained in February after a long-running counter-terrorism investigation. Three of those were then charged with possession of false identity documents, according to the Metropolitan police, which is responsible for espionage cases. The BBC reported that they are accused of working for Russia’s security services, as part of what appears to be an undercover cell. They reportedly held passports and identity cards from Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic. The defendants, who were arrested under the 1911 Official Secrets Act by counter-terrorism police, knew the documents were forged and had them with “improper intention”, it is alleged. The three alleged spies are Orlin Roussev, 45, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; Biser Dzhambazov, 41, of Harrow, north-west London, and Katrin Ivanova, 31, of the same Harrow address. The trio had lived in the UK for years, working in a variety of jobs, and living in a series of suburban properties, the BBC reported. It said Roussev had a history of business dealings in Russia. He moved to the UK in 2009 and spent three years working in a technical role in financial services. One industry report called him an “accomplished network engineer and software developer”. He was previously responsible for “delivering a wide variety of technology projects across eastern Europe”, it said. Roussev’s LinkedIn profile did not feature a photograph. Roussev says he is the owner of a now-dissolved company, NewGenTech Ltd, which dealt with “artificial intelligence, advanced indexing systems and algorithms, advanced communication systems … and high-frequency technologies and signals processing”. He describes himself as a former adviser to Bulgaria’s energy ministry and has recently been living at a seaside guesthouse in Great Yarmouth. His address, in Prince’s Road, is close to the Norfolk town’s beach and pier. Dzhambazov is described as a driver for hospitals. His Facebook page lists no friends. It features several videos of nightclubs and parties. A live stream from 2018 appears to show him teaching English to a group of mature Bulgarian students. In one class held in Wembley he sings the song Jamaica Farewell by Harry Belafonte as his pupils join in. Ivanova describes herself on her LinkedIn profile as a laboratory assistant for a private health business. The couple, who moved to the UK about a decade ago, ran a community organisation providing services to Bulgarian people, including familiarising them with the “culture and norms of British society”, the BBC said. In a Facebook video for the Bulgarian Social Platform Ivanova gives advice on how to obtain basic UK qualifications. Topics include citizenship, employment, and an introduction to “British values”. They also worked for electoral commissions in London that facilitate voting in Bulgarian elections by citizens living abroad, according to Bulgarian state documents online. The Metropolitan police said the three defendants were arrested on 8 February. Two other people were detained at the same time – a 31-year-old man living at an address in west London, and a 29-year-old woman from north London, it said. All five were released on police bail and are due to return to court in September, the Met added. A trial has been set for January at the Old Bailey. They have yet to enter pleas to the charges. In recent years Russian spies have been involved in several high-profile plots including the murder in 2006 of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko and the attempted murder in 2018 of the Russian defector Sergei Skripal. All three of Russia’s spy agencies have been involved in UK operations. They are the Federal Security Service or FSB, which Vladimir Putin ran before he became prime minister and president; Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU or GU, and the SVR foreign intelligence service. The British government has previously expelled several Russian intelligence officers working at the embassy in Kensington under diplomatic cover. In March 2018 the then prime minister, Theresa May, kicked out 23 Russian diplomats accused of spying, in the wake of the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.