Spy scandal: 'Be careful when you steal reports'

New details have emerged in the spy scandal involving a female Swedish lieutenant commander and her Serbian lover. Having come into possession of the relevant military intelligence report, newspaper Expressen has published excerpts surrounding the activities of the 35-year-old Swede.

• Female Swedish 'spy' officer off the hook (16 Jun 08)
• Spy suspect keeps job (5 Jun 07)
• Security Service reports suspected spy (15 May 07)

On March 12th last year, Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service (Militära underrättelse- och säkerhetstjänsten - MUST) was contacted by NATO, which said it had reason to suspect the Kosovo-based lieutenant commander of involvement in espionage.

The lieutenant commander serving with the Swedish Kosovo Force (KFOR) first came into contact with Z - as he is known to MUST - in October 2005.

Soon she began meeting the UN interpreter on a regular basis and within a month he began pressing her for information.

In an early e-mail to Z, she wrote: "I too enjoy our little meetings and not just for the cappuccinos... I will look in our archives tomorrow and get back to you as soon as possible."

A few days after Christmas 2005, the lieutenant commander wrote: "The info at lunch today. I shouldn't have said it and I could be in deep shit if it gets out."

Early in the new year, she began to express her strong feelings for Z.

"Thank you for yesterday. What you said was right, I just didn't want it to end. Maybe you understood that at the car park by the gate. I just didn't want to let you go.

"I so enjoy the time we spend together, and also the time in between when I look forward to days like yesterday."

When interrogated, Z said that they had sex together.

But MUST noted in its investigation that the lieutenant commander "seems to have been untruthful" when she said that the pair had done no more than kiss.

The lieutenant commander was understanding when Z announced that he would have to travel to Bulgaria in April - where MUST suspected that he would meet his contact - rather than celebrate her birthday.

"I also have to admit that I wasn't sure how you would react to the fact that this was the reason I had to travel to Sofia but I am glad that you reacted as you did," wrote Z.

On February 13th, just one month before NATO made its allegations, Z wrote:

"You have to be very careful when you steal reports like that one."

When questioned by MUST late last month, the lieutenant commander said that she didn't realize that she had revealed secret information.

"I see now what you mean and I think it's terrible," she said.

She also added that she had not suspected her lover of being a spy, "except when I joked that Z worked for the CIA."

A joint KFOR, UN and MUST investigation found that the lieutenant commander had thousands of secret NATO and UN documents stored on her computer.

Expressen reports that Z was most likely first recruited as a spy in 2003. He was given the name 'John Smith' and told to take orders from 'Matty'.

Once the illegal intelligence gathering operation was uncovered, Z was held for questioning. He then disappeared and has not been seen since.