A British Border Force officer and an immigration investigator were today charged with spying for Hong Kong in a landmark case.
Chi Leung Wai, 38, who works at Heathrow Airport for the UK Border Force and volunteers as a special constable for the City of London Police, is accused of allegedly carrying out surveillance and hostile reconnaissance on pro-democracy activists in the United Kingdom on behalf of Hong Kong intelligence. service.
He was charged today alongside former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, 37, who currently works as an immigration officer for the Home Office.
A third man, Chung Biu Yuen, 63, a retired Hong Kong police officer now employed as a business manager, is also accused of aiding Hong Kong’s intelligence services.
Chi Leung Wai pictured leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court (left) today
Chung Biu Yuen pictured leaving court today (left) and photographed on a motorbike during the 2002 Kowloon East operations (right)
Trickett appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today charged with spying for Hong Kong. He was pictured (left) leaving court today.
In an extraordinary espionage case, the first of its kind, the defendants allegedly carried out surveillance operations in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities, allegedly targeting regime dissidents.
This is the first time that a person has been accused of spying on British soil for Hong Kong’s intelligence services.
The trio were charged under the new national security law introduced last year to target those working covertly for states hostile to the UK.
They are accused of “hostile activities including information gathering, hostile surveillance, acts of deception and forced entry into a residential address in the United Kingdom”.
The “primary targets” would be pro-democracy activists from the Hong Kong diaspora now based in the United Kingdom.
The three men allegedly broke into the home of one of their targets in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on May 1 this year.
Chi Leung Wai, 38, a Heathrow employee, is also accused of carrying out hostile surveillance and reconnaissance on pro-democracy activists in the United Kingdom.
Chi Leung Wai wore a face mask as he left court on Monday, charged with two other defendants.
Today all three appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a brief hearing just hours after Scotland Yard announced the charges.
Dressed in identical gray tracksuits, they spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
No pleas were entered during the hearing.
They are accused of allegedly assisting a foreign intelligence service between December 20, 2023 and May 2, 2024 by engaging in acts, including agreeing to carry out information collection, surveillance and acts of deception.
The trio also face a second charge of foreign interference on May 1, 2024, by engaging in “prohibited behavior, namely forcing entry to a residential address in the United Kingdom.”
It can now be revealed that Wai, known as Peter, is a Hong Kong and British national living in Staines, Surrey, who posed for photos on social media wearing a Metropolitan Police uniform.
According to his website, he is the founder and director of D5 Security and has over 20 years of experience in the UK military, policing and private sector.
His co-accused Trickett, 37, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, also served in the army as a Royal Marine between 2007 and 2013.
He was previously employed by the UK Border Force at Heathrow, before joining the Home Office Immigration Enforcement on February 21 this year.
He is also the director of a security consultancy established in April 2021 called MTR Consultancy.
The third defendant, Yuen, known as Billy, lives in Dalston, east London, and works as a director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bloomsbury, central London.
Court sketch of the three defendants appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and, inset, a security van leaves the courthouse in west London
The home of Hong Kong spy suspect Chi Leung Wai, in Staines, Surrey, who neighbors say kept to himself
A building where Chung Biu Yuen lives. Neighbors expressed surprise that he had been arrested
He refused to discuss the allegations when he returned to the upscale home after his court appearance.
Dressed casually in corduroy pants and a gray jacket, Yeun refused to give an explanation for the accusations against him.
However, neighbors expressed surprise that he had been arrested.
One said: “I couldn’t believe he had been arrested. He’s a model neighbor.
And there was a similar shock in the Wai area of Surrey.
One resident, who declined to give his name, said Wai lived a quiet life in a modest two-bedroom terraced house near Heathrow Airport.
The neighbor said, “Wow, I can’t believe it.”
Chi Leung Wai, pictured in a police uniform, volunteers as a special constable for the City of London Police
“I know who he is, but to be honest, he keeps to himself.”
Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command, supported by colleagues from the North East and South East Counter-Terrorism Policing Services, have arrested a total of 11 people as part of the ongoing investigation.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of counter-terrorism command, said: “A number of arrests and searches have been carried out across England as part of this investigation.
“Although led from London, the counter-terrorism policing network played a crucial role in disrupting this activity and we have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service since the investigation began.”
District Judge Louisa Cieciora granted the three men bail on certain conditions, including the surrender of any international travel documents.
The next hearing will take place at the Old Bailey on May 24.
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