SOVIET SPY ELUDED A TRAP SET BY FBI AT WALKER'S ARREST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330066-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 10, 2012
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: July 11, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/10/10: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330066-2
LTICLZ SPY
ON PAGZ
WASHINGTON TIMES
11 July 1985
Soviet spy eluded
a trap set by FBI
at Walker's arrest
By Bill Gertz
THE NMSH NGTON TIMES
The Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion just missed a chance to arrest a
Soviet espionage a ent on t e night
it arrested John walker Jr.. ra former
high-ranking U.S. intelligence offi-
cial s.
By this official's description of the
events of that night, the FBI "lost"
Mr. Walker - later charged with
spying for the Soviet Union - for
nearly three hours before he made a
"drop" of secret documents in a
rural area in the Maryland suburbs.
The Soviet espionage agent, if
caught in the act of picking up the
documents, might have given U.S.
agents an opportunity to offer him
political asylum or eras "turn" him to become a U.S. agent within
the KGB - the Soviet intelligence
agency,
The former official, an expert on
Soviet esDiona?e operations. spec-
ulated that Soviet intelligence
agents supporting the operation
rier that he had been seen and was
bein followed the .
The Soviet courier did not attempt
to "service the drop" - spy parlance
for making a clandestine pickup.
"The basic point no one is
addressing is the fact that a KGB
agent was seen in the area, but did
not service the drop - that's the key
to it;' the former official said.
The Soviets would never leave a
drop site "hanging" - holding
secret information - unless they
were sure a problem had developed,
he said.
Court papers filed at the time of
Mr. Walker's arrest May 20 show that
FBI agents assigned to follow Mr.
Walker tried unsuccessfully to fol-
low the former Navy warrant officer
as he drove evasively near Potomac,
Md.
"This activity was observed for
approximately one hour, at which
time surveillance detection was
lost;" FBI agent Joseph R. Wolfinger
testified in a court affadavit. Mr.
Walker's whereabouts were
unknown for the period between 5
p.m. and 7:45 p.m. on May 19.
Another court affadavit reveals
that FBI agent Robert W. Hunter
"was in radio contact with and
monitored the surveillance activity
of FBI agents who were surveilling
John Anthony Walker, Jr."
intelligence procedures for ser-
vicing a drop site what the Soviets
consi ere a valuable, 20-year espi-
on e agent "would not be handled
lightly or casually," the former o i-
cial said.
1 ie Soviets concentrate their
vast intelligence assets in this coun-
try to protect their couriers and
agents, including extensive counter-
surveillance agents and eiectrogi-C
listening devices he asserted
The former official said t e* FBI's
loss of Mr. Walker's whereabouts
could have caused FBI agents to use
radios that would have been picked
up by Soviet countersurveillance
agents and monitors posted in the
vicinity.
FBI spokesman Manuel Marquez
would not comment on FBI surveil-
lance techniques in the Walker case
when asked about the use of radio
communications and the lapse in
tracking Mr. Walker.
"When the Soviets run a case for
20 ears, they use ever inte f-
ence asset in their service to pro-
tect it" the former official said.
Among the assets avai la e to the
KGB for running U.S. agents are the
large number of Soviet diplomatic
and consular personnel, a network
of "illegal agents" with no diplo-
matic status, and large radio listen-
ing devices on the Soviet Embassy
roof in Washington and at a house on
Maryland's eastern shore.
In a speech earlier this month,
P sident Reagan urged the
strengthening of U.S. counterintelli-
gence efforts against an es ima ed
2,500 Soviet personnel in the United
S=s. He said "30 to 40 percent" of
the Soviet personnel are known or
suspected intelligence operatives,
but exerts assert that all Soviet per-
sonnel serve as s ies.
It is possible the attempted doc-
ument transfer May 19 was timed to
coincide with the passing of a Soviet
spy satellite capable of picking up
radio communications that would
have alerted the Soviet courier to the
FBI's monitoring.
Special Agent Hunter noted in his.
affidavit that "a Soviet national
assigned to the Soviet Embassy in
Washington was seen, during the
course of the surveillance, in the
same area where the surveillance
-of Mr. Walker] was being con-
ducted."
No explanation was given in the
court paper as to why the suspected
Soviet agent did not follow through
with the secret rendezvous.
The Soviet national was reported
to be Vice Consul Aleksey Tka-
chenko, who left the United States
four days later.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/10/10: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330066-2