Chinese agents busted in France. They tried to intercept Starlink's signal

Four people, including two Chinese citizens, who were detained by French services last week on suspicion of spying for China, have been indicted – the AFP news agency reported on Thursday, citing a statement from the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor's office said that two people were placed in pre-trial detention and the other two were placed under court supervision.

The detainees are accused of “providing information to a foreign power” in order to “violate the fundamental interests of the state.” The AFP news agency reported that they faced 15 years in prison.

The arrests took place in the Gironde department in southwestern France. According to the prosecutor's office, these people were detained on January 31 and appeared before an investigating judge. All four are suspected of participating in the operation to intercept important data, including military data.

Investigators clarified that two Chinese citizens came to France to carry out “a mission to intercept Starlink satellite data and data of key origin, including military ones, in order to transfer them (…) to China.”

The daily Le Parisien reported on Wednesday that four men aged 27 to 45 had been detained and that they were all from China.

The two detainees allegedly placed an antenna in the garden of the rented premises, which aroused suspicion. The prosecutor's office confirmed this version of events. Authorities reported that the men had stated in their visa applications that they were engineers working for a company that researched and developed wireless communications systems.

According to the newspaper, the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), involved in the investigation, suspects that Chinese citizens used a structure placed in the garden to connect to the frequencies used by French state services and intercept information.

Two other detained people, who, according to the daily, also have Chinese passports, are suspected of bringing banned spy equipment to France. This equipment was to be brought to the premises occupied by two other defendants. (PAP)

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