One of the male suspects allegedly attacked the guards with a paralyzing spray while trying to take pictures of Grams’ factory, which is used to dismantle abandoned weapons, the department said in a statement. The ministry added that two of its soldiers were injured while trying to stop the raid, but the three foreign nationals were arrested. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the three men were “suspected of espionage”. “Three citizens with Russian and Ukrainian passports tried to enter the factory,” the ministry said in a statement. “Officers guarding the factory reacted immediately, but in their efforts to stop the three foreign nationals, two of our soldiers were injured,” the statement said, adding that the condition of the soldiers was stable. “In an attempt to evade control, one of the Russian nationals, identified by the initials MZ, 24 [years old]used nerve spray on the two security guards,” the ministry added after being tackled by the guards. Two others, a Russian woman identified as ST, aged 33, and a Ukrainian man, 25-year-old F.A., were also arrested in the area. “So proud of the military guards who neutralized three people suspected of espionage,” Rama wrote on Twitter, adding: “Now let’s wait for the full clarification of this fact.” During the summer holidays Albania is visited by many Russian and Ukrainian tourists. The Grams military base is more than 70 kilometers from the beaches. During communism, the Albanian Gramsh factory was used to produce the Russian-style AK-47 rifle. According to the ministry’s website, the plant currently provides manufacturing services for the defense industry, without giving further details. Albania has been a member of NATO since 2009.
