This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/17/former-cia-agent-arrested-after-fears-that-china-spy-network-was-betrayed

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Former CIA agent arrested after fears that China spy network was betrayed Former CIA agent arrested after fears that China spy network was betrayed
(about 9 hours later)
Hong Kong resident Jerry Chun Shing Lee accused of having unauthorised notebook that had the identities of undercover US informants Jerry Chun Shing Lee accused of having unauthorised notebook containing identities of undercover US informants
Agence France-Presse Matthew Weaver
Wed 17 Jan 2018 01.29 GMT Wed 17 Jan 2018 10.35 GMT
First published on Wed 17 Jan 2018 01.29 GMT
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
View more sharing optionsView more sharing options
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
CloseClose
US authorities have arrested a former CIA agent, Hong Kong resident Jerry Chun Shing Lee, after discovering he had an unauthorised notebook that contained the identities of undercover US spies. A former CIA agent reportedly believed to be behind the unmasking of an espionage network in China, including more than 12 spies who were killed or imprisoned by the Chinese authorities, has been arrested in New York.
Lee, a naturalized US citizen also known as Zhen Cheng Li, was arrested late on Monday after he arrived at JFK international airport in New York. Hong Kong resident Jerry Chun Shing Lee was seized at JFK airport on Monday, six years after FBI agents discovered he was travelling with notebooks containing the identities of undercover US agents.
The Department of Justice said Lee, 53, grew up in the United States and served in the US Army before joining the Central Intelligence Agency as a case officer in 1994. Lee, a naturalised US citizen also known as Zhen Cheng Li, made an initial court appearance in a New York federal court on Tuesday on charges of unlawful retention of national defence information. He is due to appear at another court in Northern Virginia, where the CIA is located.
He served in unnamed overseas locations and left the agency in 2007, later apparently taking a job in Hong Kong. Lee is suspected of leaking the names of US agents to the Chinese authorities, in one of the deadliest intelligence setbacks for the CIA since the cold war. Between 2010 and 2012, the Chinese killed or imprisoned more than 12 dozen US sources in China, the New York Times reported last year.
In a complaint filed in a New York federal court, the justice department said that in 2012, FBI agents with court-ordered warrants secretly searched Lee’s luggage while he was travelling in the US and found he was carrying top secret materials he was not authorised to have. It reported that FBI officers believed Lee was the main suspect in the breach, in the face of initial CIA resistance to the idea that it had a mole. The FBI refused to publicly confirm this. It is unclear why Lee was not arrested when his notebooks were first found by FBI agents during a search of his luggage during trips to Hawaii and Virginia in 2012.
“Agents found two small books containing handwritten notes that contained classified information, including but not limited to, true names and phone numbers of assets and covert CIA employees, operational notes from asset meetings, operational meeting locations and locations of covert facilities,” the department said. The Department of Justice said Lee, 53, grew up in the US and served in the US Army before joining the CIA as a case officer in 1994.
Lee was charged with unlawful retention of national defense information, a charge that can bring up to 10 years in prison. He served in unnamed overseas locations and left the agency in 2007. He was since reported to be have been employed in Hong Kong for an auction house.
In a complaint filed in a New York federal court, the justice department said that in 2012, “agents found two small books containing handwritten notes that contained classified information, including but not limited to, true names and phone numbers of assets and covert CIA employees, operational notes from asset meetings, operational meeting locations and locations of covert facilities.”
Officials did not say why it took so long to bring charges against Lee, or whether he had leaked any materials to foreign countries.Officials did not say why it took so long to bring charges against Lee, or whether he had leaked any materials to foreign countries.
But the case takes place amid concern in the US intelligence community that the Chinese government has been able to cripple their operations in that country. The arrest comes amid concern in the US intelligence community that the Chinese government has been able disable CIA operations in China.
The New York Times reported last year that starting in 2010, to the end of 2012, the Chinese killed “at least a dozen” sources the CIA had inside China and imprisoned six or more others. Former intelligence officials told the New York Times that the FBI managed persuade Lee to travel to the US under a false pretext, and interviewed several times in 2013.
A hunt for a “mole” in the agency led to one person, a “former operative” now living elsewhere in Asia, the Times said. But there was not enough information to arrest him. A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the case on Tuesday, citing Lee’s ongoing prosecution.
But others in the agency blamed sloppy work and not a mole, the Times added. Espionage
ChinaChina
Asia PacificAsia Pacific
news
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content