Brits Seek Arrest Of Former KGB Agents

From the Evening Standard:

Scotland Yard detectives are to issue arrest warrants against three former KGB officers suspected of poisoning ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Police have told sources close to Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina that they intend to lay charges of murder and poisoning against the men, who met the victim three weeks before his death in London.

There is former and then again there is "former." I wonder how much former these men were and I wonder where they all got the notion to murder Alexander Litvinenko. Undoubtably some strange coincidence linked to the phase of the moon.

Police have told sources close to Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina that they intend to where they got the notion to murder lay charges of murder and poisoning against the men, who met the victim three weeks before his death in London.

The move will damage the already strained relationship between Downing Street and the Kremlin, which is almost certain to block any request for the men's arrest and extradition.

It is disappointing that the paper infers that the Brits are straining relations; after all, it is the Russians that murdered a man on British soil.

Warrants are expected to be issued against Andrei Lugovoy, Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko within the next few weeks.

All three former agents have vehemently protested their innocence of any involvement in the murder plot. They all claim that they, too, were contaminated with the deadly radioactive material polonium-210 which poisoned Mr Litvinenko, a strong critic of President Vladimir Putin's regime.

Interestingly enough, these men are all wealthy budinessman based in Moscow who met with Litvinenko in the Millenium Hotel last year. Litvinenko died last November.

In December, nine Scotland Yard detectives flew to Moscow as part of their investigation. They were not allowed to interview Mr Lugovoy or Mr Kovtun directly, although they were present when Russian police officers interviewed them. They were not granted any access to Mr Sokolenko.

Sounds like innocence personified to me.

Polonium 210 - The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Just when you thought it was safe to comment on the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

WASHINGTON - FBI agents say they are assisting police in suburban Washington who are investigating the shooting of a Russian expert — a man who spoke out on "Dateline NBC" last weekend and strongly suggested that remnants of the KGB were responsible for the bizarre poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko.

The Russian expert, Paul Joyal, was shot Thursday night as he got out of his car in front of his house in Adelphi, Md. Investigators in Prince Georges County say a witness claims to have seen two men running away after the shooting. Joyal remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the midsection. Authorities have not said whether they've been able to talk to him.

It could have been worse. They could have poured him a cup of tea.

On last weekend's "Dateline," he said of Litvenenko's death: "A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: 'If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you and we will silence you — in the most horrible way possible.'"

Deja vue all over again. And the action also picked up on the other side of the pond.

In an odd twist, another person who appeared on the "Dateline" broadcast died of a heart attack last month. Reporter Daniel McGrory of the Times of London, who has written about the Litvinenko case, died Feb. 20, before the "Dateline" segment was broadcast. He was 54. His family said he "died suddenly at home." He was a veteran British foreign correspondent who had reported from several war zones. Just before his death, he had been reporting in Pakistan.

When I hear of an "odd twist" I usually think of two women wearing the same dress to an event, or a math whiz flunking an English test. But two people who appear on the same show criticizing former KGB agents suffer death or near death within a short time of each other?

If a dead gazelle shows up in the jaws of a leopard, is that an "odd twist?"

I'm A Little Teapot

I'm a little teapot short and stout,
I'll pour you a Cup O'Death out of my spout.

When I get all steamed up then I cry,
Just take a sip and kiss your ass goodbye.

ABC News reports that the Brit cops have finally found the receptacle that delivered ex-Russian KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko his minimum daily requirement of Polonium 210.

British officials say police have cracked the murder-by-poison case of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, including the discovery of a "hot" teapot at London's Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing.

I really can't think of an excuse for why it took so long for them to find it. Just turn off the lights and see what glows, no?

A senior official tells ABC News the "hot" teapot remained in use at the hotel for several weeks after Litvinenko's death before being tested in the second week of December. The official said investigators were embarrassed at the oversight.

Whoever was in charge of the crime scene should have his ass booted up over his ears.

British health officials say some 128 people were discovered to have had "probable contact" with Polonium-210, including at least eight hotel staff members and one guest.

No definitive word yet on where these people may have come in contact with the radioactive teabags. Now we have to add another variation of tea: white, green, oolong, black and nuclear.

There obviously has been some intensive work done after the initial bungling. Brit investigators traveled to Russia for interviews and a prime suspect has been identified.

The official says investigators have concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services.

Officials say Russian FSB intelligence considered the murder to have been badly bungled because it took more than one attempt to administer the poison. The Russian officials did not expect the source of the poisoning to be discovered, according to intelligence reports.

Most murders don't. If this was done by old school KGB'ers, perhaps they just didn't care whether or not they were found out. Nothing would ever came of it anyway. Perhaps they are wrong, we'll see.

Sources say police intend to seek charges against a former Russian spy, Andrei Lugovoi, who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day officials believe the lethal dose was administered in the Millennium Hotel teapot.

Lugovoi steadfastly denied any involvement in the murder at a Moscow news conference and at a session with Scotland Yard detectives. Russian security police were present when the British questioned Lugovoi, and British officials do not think they received honest answers from him.

The Brits may issue a warrant for him, but it is doubtful that it will be served. Lugovoi was in Moscow hospital when the brit cops came looking for him. From a Dec. 6, 2006, ABC News article:

British detectives investigating the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have identified a prime suspect — a man who also once was a Russian spy, a British official tells ABC News.

British detectives had just arrived in Moscow when they were told they could not see the man they consider their prime suspect, former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi. He was unavailable, hospitalized with signs of radiation poisoning, Russian officials said.

Russia's top prosecutor said the British could not speak with any witnesses on their own and could not extradite them to Britain if they're charged. Senior British official told ABC News the Russian government is obstructing the investigation, even as more and more signs point to Russia and Lugovoi.

ABC News has reconstructed Lugovoi's movements from Moscow to London, right up to the day he met Litvinenko at a London hotel, and found a trail of deadly polonium 210.

If this gets embarassing enough for the Russians, perhaps Andre will have himself a little accident. I'd be real careful of what I drank. Someone may drop a teapot on him.