A prosecutor says that a well-organized network of Russian spies in the U.S. is ready to help several people accused in an espionage case.
"There are a lot of Russian government officials in the United States who are actively assisting this conspiracy," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz in court Thursday.
He added that the Russian officials are eager to help the accused in the case flee the country.
In the ongoing espionage case, at least 10 suspects were arrested in the U.S. on Sunday. Nine of them had bail hearings scheduled for Thursday.
The remaining suspect, Russian beauty and tabloid sensation Anna Chapman, was previously denied bail.
Meanwhile, one of the accused has apparently confessed to spying. The man known as Juan Lazaro reportedly admitted that he was born in Siberia and was being paid by Russia to spy on his adopted home of the U.S.
Three others, who were living in the U.S. as Canadian citizens, were supposed to have bail hearings Thursday, but they were postponed.
Meanwhile, American authorities say they're disappointed Cyprus chose to release a suspected Russian spy on bail, giving him the opportunity to disappear.
"As we had feared, having been given unnecessarily the chance to flee," Christopher Metsos "did so," Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department national security division, said Thursday.
In Cyprus, shamefaced authorities are scouring airports, ports and marinas in an effort to track the suspected Russian spy-ring paymaster.
Police have also looked at surveillance video from Cyprus's various crossing points to determine whether the fugitive fled into breakaway north of the island.
The courts "may have been mistaken" in deciding to release Metsos, who was arrested travelling with a Canadian passport, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said.
"We have some information and we hope that we will arrest him soon," the minister told reporters Thursday, though he did not say what leads authorities are exploring.
Metsos, 54, is wanted in the United States, where he is accused of sending money to the suburban Russian spy operation unmasked by the Federal Bureau of Investigations earlier this week.
Authorities have pledged to do everything they can to recapture Metsos, whose stealthy escape has humiliated the island nation once considered a breeding ground for Cold War collusions.
Metsos was arrested Tuesday as he prepared to board a flight from Cyprus to Budapest, Hungary. A judge freed him on C27,000 ($33,000) bail. He missed a mandatory check-in with police Wednesday, sending police on his trail.
Police spokesperson Michalis Katsounotos would not comment on court's judgment in freeing Metsos, but said so far, there is no evidence the fugitive has fled the island's internationally recognized territory.
Meanwhile, American and Cypriot authorities say the U.S. has not made a formal complaint regarding the case.
Asked if U.S. authorities had contacted northern Cyprus about Metsos, a spokesperson for the American embassy said: "The investigation is in the hands of the Cypriot government."
Cyprus was divided in two distinct territories in 1974 after Turkey invaded in retaliation to a coup by supporters of union with Greece. The Greek Cypriot south is recognized internationally, unlike the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, acknowledged only by Turkey.
Metsos is one of four members of the alleged Russian spy ring believed to have used Canadian documents to infiltrate policy-making circles in the U.S.
The three other spy suspects that claim to be Canadian went by the names Patricia Mills, Donald Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
