Foreigner spying for British intel agency detained: China

ISTANBUL

China Monday said it had detained a foreigner accused of passing on intelligence to the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).

The country's Ministry of State Security (MSS) stated that it took "criminal measures" against the alleged spy, who acted as head of a foreign consultancy, Beijing-based daily Global Times reported.

It identified the person just as Huang, who got in touch with M16 in 2015, in the first case where Beijing has named MI6.

No further details about the person were released.

Beijing has since arranged consular services for the detained foreigner.

Huang was asked to travel to China multiple times "under the guise of a public identity, to gather intelligence on behalf of the British side and recruit individuals for MI6," according to the ministry.

He was allegedly trained in the UK, where he was provided with equipment for alleged intelligence communication.

After a "meticulous investigation," the ministry said the Chinese national security agency "timely discovered the criminal evidence of Huang's espionage activities.

It accused Huang of passing on to MI6 nine confidential-level national secrets, five secret-level national secrets, and three pieces of intelligence.