Foreign Spy Device Discovered on Mediterranean Vessel, Probe Launched

(MENAFN) France's domestic intelligence service, DGSI, has initiated a criminal investigation after authorities uncovered surveillance equipment aboard a passenger vessel moored at Sete, a southern port city, following a tip from Italian intelligence operatives, according to Wednesday media reports.

Law enforcement executed the operation last week under directives from the Paris Prosecutor's Office, targeting the "Fantastic," a passenger ship owned by an Italian company with capacity for 2,000 travelers.

Authorities arrested two individuals during the raid—one Latvian national and one Bulgarian national—on allegations of manipulating the monitoring device.

The Latvian suspect was transported to Paris over the weekend and officially placed under investigation for "violating an automated data processing system in service of a foreign power."

He remains in pretrial detention, while the Bulgarian national received release.

DGSI's probe uncovered supplementary evidence during searches executed both on the vessel and at locations in Latvia.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez characterized the incident as "very serious" in an interview with a public broadcaster. "Some individuals attempted to breach a ship's data processing system," he said.

He added that investigators believed it was "a foreign interference operation," noting that "these foreign interferences nowadays always come from the same country."

The Fantastic has maintained Mediterranean operations for approximately two decades.

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