A radio fanatic has told how Albanian police seized his gear after suspecting he was a spy.
Delivery driver Colin McGowan, of Stenhousemuir, was stunned to be quizzed over the radio gear, which has been sent to the Albanian Criminality Laboratory for further examination.
Albanian Police’s C Unit (Cybernetic Unit), aided by the Albanian secret service (SHISH), is liaising with prosecutors in the country to establish beyond doubt that Colin is the innocent amateur radio enthusiast he claims to be.
They want to establish whether Colin was part of an espionage team during a five-day trip to the Eastern European country last month.
Colin, 46, said: “I’m not exactly James Bond to be honest. I couldn’t even wire up one of those video doorbells, so I can assure you I wasn’t spying.
“I’m not entirely sure what spying might even entail to be honest and I wouldn’t know where to start.
“It all came as a bit of a surprise but I believe the Albanian authorities lack of experience or knowledge of amateur radio is what sparked this.
“They simply hadn’t seen equipment like ours and they wanted to make sure everything was above board.”
Colin was travelling with fellow radio ham Paul Tittensor, from Chelmsford in Essex.
Colin and Paul, 61, took a field trip to Albanian capital Tirana to set up a new radio station to broadcast their signal to other enthusiasts worldwide.
They hired a villa and set up a wire antennas to broadcast information, using their established call signs.
Colin said: “We had a very successful few days and everything went to plan.
“On the way home the Albanian customs guy had a look at our equipment and he got quite interested, so we explained what it was.
“The next thing we knew, the police wanted to ask us more questions, so we were taken aside and asked to explain what everything did.
“I think there was a concern that our stuff could interfere with signals being put out by the Albanian police or government but we operate on different frequencies so there was never really any chance of any kind of problem.
“In the end they took away our gear and they still have it, three weeks later.
“The next thing we knew, the police wanted to ask us more questions, so we were taken aside and asked to explain what everything did.
“I think there was a concern that our stuff could interfere with signals being put out by the Albanian police or government but we operate on different frequencies so there was never really any chance of any kind of problem.
“In the end they took away our gear and they still have it, three weeks later."
He added: “I’m aware that the Albanians launched an inquiry but they let us come back to Scotland. There isn’t really that much to inquire into.
“It wasn’t that traumatic and we left the police on quite good terms.
“We were never formally put under arrest or locked up.”
The men’s spy allegations were reported in Albania, where reference was made to a “suspicious device.”
Eduart Merkaj, head of the Border Police of Rinas, told ABC News: “The device was captured by the scanner and there is an ongoing investigation into this matter.”
The report continues: “Albanian police are not giving any further details due to sensitive investigation.
"Tirana prosecutor’s office is continuing the investigation.
“It is the first time such gear were seized by border police force at Mother Teresa airport.”
A source at Albanian police is reported as saying: “We are concerned how such gear entered Albania undetected and for what purpose were used and who used them and for how long this radio were used in territory of Albania.”
Sources in the country said investigators are trying to establish if the radio gear was able to record or interfere with analogue radio waves used by the military or secret service.
Albania, a former communist state since 2009, is a NATO member and its foreign policy has been in line with the EU and USA.
The Albanian intelligence agencies’ main concern is espionage from Russia.
The ABC Albania report claims that during a recent NATO military exercise, two Russian men were spotted at Kucova Air Base putting up a drone.
They were stopped by the Albanian Military Intelligence Service (AISM) and were expelled from Albania.
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