SPYCRAFT 101

216. A Canadian Teen Recruited to Spy For Russia with Laken Pavan


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Today Justin sits down with Laken Pavan. Laken is a 19-year-old student from Vancouver, Canada. In April, 2024, he left Vancouver and traveled to Eastern Ukraine to join a volunteer group there called InterBrigade. Shortly after arriving, he was confronted by agents from the Russian FSB Federal Security Service, who recruited him to work on their behalf gathering information elsewhere in Europe. He first traveled to Denmark and later to Poland, communicating with his handlers online. Laken was arrested not long afterwards in Warsaw and sentenced to 20 months in prison for espionage. He's only recently been released and returned home to Vancouver and is telling his story here now for the first time.


Connect with Laken:

IG: @laken.ca

Connect with Spycraft 101:
Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.
spycraft101.com
IG: @spycraft101
Shop: shop.spycraft101.com
Patreon: Spycraft 101

Subtack: spycraft101.substack.com

Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.
Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.
Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.

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SPYCRAFT 101By Justin Black

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