Norwegian police arrest a Chinese citizen on spying allegations

Authorities in Norway arrested a Chinese citizen on espionage allegations yesterday in connection with a purported effort to set up a receiver to collect sensitive satellite data, the country’s domestic intelligence service said.

Norwegian security officials also searched two premises in connection with the arrest, including one on an island in northern Norway that’s home to Andøya Spaceport, which is part of Europe’s efforts to expand its presence in space. The other search took place in Innlandet, in southern Norway.

Police launched their operation on the suspicion that a Norwegian-registered company “was operating as a front for a Chinese state actor,” the Police Security Service, or PST, said.

The suspect, who was identified only as a Chinese woman, allegedly tried “to establish a receiver for satellite downloads from satellites in polar orbits suitable for collecting data that could harm fundamental Norwegian interests if it becomes known to a foreign state,” PST police attorney Thomas Blom said in a statement.

The incident “involves complicity in an attempt at serious espionage against state secrets,” the statement said.