CAIRO - Egyptian State Security has uncovered a spy ring that included two Israelis and an Egyptian businessman, who helped them recruit operatives working for telecom companies, State Security Prosecutor Hisham Badawi said Monday.
"State Security prosecutors have announced the discovery of a spying network that included an Egyptian and two Israelis," said Badawi.
According to a document shown to reporters by Badawi during a press conference yesterday, security officials arrested the 37-year-old Egyptian, the owner of an import-export firm, in August on charges of spying for Israel in co-operation with the two Israelis, who had already left Egypt.
It alleged the Egyptian accepted $37,000 in exchange for providing them with information about Egyptians working in telecommunications companies who could be recruited by the spy ring in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
"Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered the referral of the three accused defendants, two Israeli fugitives and a detained Egyptian, to the Emergency State Security Court on the charges of spying for Israel and harming the country's national interests," Badawi told reporters.
In occupied Jerusalem, an Israeli official declined immediate comment on the news.
Egypt has maintained strong diplomatic and economic ties with Israel since they signed a peace accord three decades ago.
