There have been plenty of TV series and movies about spies carrying out their missions in different countries and some of these stories were inspired or based on actual events in real life. Who knew that one of the spies that was caught was reported to be a Malaysian?
Yesterday (Monday, 11th September), news broke out in Norway that a foreign student was arrested by authorities for alleged espionage and according to reports, the accused was said to be a Malaysian student.
Norwegian intelligence officials released a statement earlier this week to inform that a 25-year-old student was caught for allegedly conducting surveillance in a rental car outside government buildings. Authorities were given orders to arrest the suspect for suspicion of eavesdropping by using various technical devices.
In one report, it was said that the man tried to spy on the Norwegian Prime Minister outside his office as well as the country’s defence ministry by tapping into the government’s electronic communications. The suspect was caught after security picked up the movement of his car outside a government building during a certain time period.
However, even after the arrest, Norwegian authorities do not believe that Malaysia would actually send a spy. According to TheRakyatPost, it was suggested that the suspect may have been carrying a “passport of convenience” in case an arrest were to occur. It was also reported that the suspect pleaded not guilty during questioning but is charged with using technical installations for illegal signal intelligence.
At the time of writing, there has been no confirmation nor updates on the identity of the alleged spy as investigations are still ongoing. There is also no information on whether the suspect was hired by another country to spy on the Norwegian government or if he was simply acting alone.
The Malaysian embassy in Stockholm is currently working closely with authorities on the case to obtain further information. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how this story unfolds soon.
Sources: TheStar, TheRakyatPost, CNN, FMT
