Report: Security experts believe terrorists could already be inside Sochi

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- In order to prepare for the Olympics in Sochi, Russia hired thousands of workers to help build and work at the infrastructure that the Games require.

According to the Daily Beast, security experts believe that the “ring of steel” that has been closed around Sochi might be ineffective because terrorists are part of the hired workforce and “it’s more than likely militants” are “waiting to strike.”

“The Russians made a big mistake; they announced well in advance when they would close the ring of steel,” said Bill Rathburn, director of security for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

An FBI agent who previously worked on the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, Don Borelli, said that workers hired to do hospitality and service jobs may pose a threat. “It takes thousands for this,” Borelli said, “Do they know who they’ve hired?”

Russia has over 40,000 security forces within the city of Sochi and even more military units are stationed in the surround area.

The single biggest threat is a lone wolf operating independently. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in Sochi, New York or Kansas, you’d need a crystal ball to stop that,” Borelli said.

Borelli believes that flawed intelligence sharing between Russia and other countries like the U.S. is also an issue. “I fully believe the Russians had a lot more information they could have shared that might have prevented the Boston bombing,” he said.

Yesterday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the threat level in Sochi “is no worse than in New York, Washington or Boston.” Today, Kozak went even further. “We can guarantee the safety of people as well as any other government hosting any mass event,” Kozak said.

One of the ways the government plans to guarantee safety is apparently by having surveillance cameras in hotel rooms, among other places.

[Daily Beast]