Chinese Spy Suspect Detained in Leipzig for Espionage

A Chinese citizen was detained in the German city of Leipzig on charges of espionage related to arms supplies.

Deutsche Welle reported that the Chinese woman was detained on suspicion of being an intelligence agent for the Chinese secret service.

DW added that the suspect, identified as Yaqi X., used her position to gather information about “the transportation of military equipment and people associated with a German arms company.”

According to the prosecutor’s office, Yaqi X. worked for a company that provides logistics services at Leipzig-Halle Airport.

From mid-August 2023 to mid-February 2024, Yaqi X. allegedly provided information to Jian G., a suspect who was prosecuted separately.

The information collected covered flights, cargo and passengers at the airport, as well as the transportation of military equipment.

The Leipzig/Halle airport is an important logistics center for the German military industry, from where arms exports are carried out, including the shipment of military cargo for Ukraine. Yaqi X. will reportedly remain in custody, and her home and workplace were searched.

Spies in Germany

The agent to whom Yaqi X. passed information was detained earlier this year. It was Jiang G., who reportedly worked as an assistant to Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament from the far-right party Alternative for Germany.

According to the prosecutor’s office, between August 2023 and February of this year, Yaqi X. passed on information to Jian G. about military cargo and people associated with an unnamed German defense company.

The German TV channel ARD, citing sources, reports that it is Rheinmetall, the largest arms manufacturer in Germany. According to a statement by the German prosecutor’s office, Jian G. is suspected, among other things, of spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany, as well as passing information about events in the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence.

In early May of this year, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches in the office of Maximilian Krah in the European Parliament. The searches were related to Jian G. Krah is also suspected of receiving money from Moscow and China’s intelligence services.

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