Ecuador Embassy Bugging Points to Surveillance Group Ltd.

HAVANA TIMES — Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patiño, made an official request today to UK authorities to provide cooperation in investigating the placement of a microphone in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, which, according to preliminary investigations, belongs to Surveillance Group Limited, reported DPA news.

Patino said the listening device was intended to “provide direct information” of the conversations in the main office of the embassy. He showed photographs of the artifact camouflaged in an electrical box and hidden in a wall.

After this determination, he said that with the cooperation of the British government his government seeks to “get to know” what authorities are involved in the bugging.

The diplomat said the device was found on June 14 but it was not made public at that time to not “distort” the meeting he had with his British counterpart, Willam Hague, on the case of the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and because a preliminary investigation was being undertaken.

Survillance Group Limited is one of the largest companies doing research and covert surveillance in  the UK, said Patiño, noting the firm is based in the English cities of Wilford and Worcester.

Julian Assange remains in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid his being extradited to the United States for making public thousands of classified documents from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other sensitive issues.
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Note: On Thursday The Surveillance Group Ltd. issued a press release denying any involvement in the bugging of the Ecuadorian embassy.