Pictured: Heathrow Border Force official and ex-Royal Marine accused of spying for Hong Kong
13 May 2024, 17:49
Three men charged with spying and foreign interference for the Hong Kong intelligence service have been pictured for the first time.
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The men charged include a Border Force officer, a former Royal Marine and a Hong Kong trade official.
Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, of Staines-upon-Thames, Matthew Trickett, 37, of Maidenhead, and Hackney resident Chung Biu Yuen, 63, have all been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, and foreign interference.
Trickett, a former Royal Marine Commando, served between 2007 and 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile. He now works as a security consultant.
Wai, is based at UK Border Force at Heathrow airport, while also serving as a special constable with City of London police, The Telegraph reports.
Yuen, meanwhile, used to work as a police officer in Hong Kong and now works as an office manager at the region's economic and trade office in London.
All three have appeared in custody on Monday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The group are also accused of foreign interference and will appear in court again later this month.
Police said they have charged the men with working for Hong Kong intelligence.
Officers also arrested nine men and a woman in Yorkshire as part of their investigation, as well as another man in London.
The woman and the seven men who were not charged have since been released.
Officers said the charges were unrelated to recent investigation into Russian spies in the UK, adding that they do not believe there is a wider threat to the British public.
Read more: UK to expel Russian defence attaché for spying for the Kremlin, Home Secretary announces
Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This operation is not connected to a recently reported Counter Terrorism Policing investigation linked to Russia.
“A number of arrests were made and searches carried out across England as part of this investigation.
"While led from London, the Counter Terrorism Policing network has been crucial to disrupting this activity and we have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service since the start of the investigation.
“While these offences are concerning, I want to reassure the public that we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them.
"This investigation remains ongoing, but now that charges have been brought, I urge people not to speculate or comment further in relation to this case."
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