BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have arrested a Chinese national accused of passing on information about a major air cargo hub a man suspected of spying for ChinaProsecutors said this on Tuesday.
The woman, identified only as Yaqi X. in accordance with German privacy rules, was arrested Monday in the eastern city of Leipzig, federal prosecutors said in a statement. She is suspected of working for a Chinese intelligence agency and providing information about flights, cargo including military equipment and passengers.
The suspect works for a company that provides logistics services at Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, prosecutors said. The airport handles both passengers and freight, but is mainly known as a freight hub.
They alleged that between August 2023 and mid-February this year, she repeatedly passed information to Jian Guo – a German national who was an assistant to the European Parliament’s far-right lawmaker. Maximilian Krah and was arrested in April. According to prosecutors, this mainly included information about the transport of military equipment and of people with connections to a German defense company, which they did not identify.
A judge on Monday ordered Yaqi X. held in custody pending possible charges, prosecutors said. Her apartment and workplace were searched.
That’s what prosecutors said Guo is accused of working for a Chinese intelligence service and of repeatedly passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament. They claim he also snooped on Chinese dissidents in Germany.
In a separate case in April three Germans were arrested on suspicion of espionage for China and arranging the transfer of information about technology with possible military use.