Israel police 'arrest Mossad spy on training exercise'

24 November 2009
A trainee spy for Israel's secret service agency Mossad was arrested by Tel Aviv police while taking part in a training operation, media reports say.
The young trainee was spotted by a female passer-by as he planted a fake bomb under a vehicle in the city.

He was only able to persuade police he was a spy after being taken in by an officer for questioning on Monday.

The authorities have refused to comment on the story although Israeli media outlets have expressed their surprise

Mossad does not give uniformed police advance notice of training sessions
A trainee spy for Israel's secret service agency Mossad was arrested by Tel Aviv police while taking part in a training operation, media reports say.
The young trainee was spotted by a female passer-by as he planted a fake bomb under a vehicle in the city.

He was only able to persuade police he was a spy after being taken in by an officer for questioning on Monday.
The authorities have refused to comment on the story although Israeli media outlets have expressed their surprise.

'Just a drill'

Mossad does not tell local uniformed police about its training exercises.
The country's commercial Channel 10 said it hoped the agency's operatives were "more effective abroad", AFP news agency reported.
Niva Ben-Harush, the woman who reported the novice's suspicious behaviour to police, told Ynet News that 15 minutes after she made the call, Tel Aviv's port was closed and people evacuated.

She said police initially asked her to come with them and identify the suspect.
"But after a few minutes, they told me it was just a drill," she said.
Up to three agency employees were believed to have been suspended following the incident, Ynet reported.

It quoted the prime minister's office as saying it did "not respond to information about such activities undertaken by security agencies or attributed to them". (BBC)

Alleged Pakistani spy arrested

NEW DELHI: A Pakistani national allegedly involved in espionage activities has been arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here by the Special Cell of the Delhi police. Several defence-related and sensitive documents have purportedly been seized from him.

The suspect, whose identity has been kept a secret in the interest of investigations, was about to board a flight to Dubai when he was intercepted by the Special Cell sleuths on Thursday, following a tip-off by Central intelligence agencies. They checked his passport, purportedly issued from Lucknow, and found that it was obtained fraudulently.

Subsequently, he was interrogated in coordination with intelligence officials and Special Cell sleuths.

On checking his personal belongings, the police reportedly found several photographs and hand-drawn maps of an Air Force base near here and the Army’s Meerut Cantonment in Uttar Pradesh. Besides these, other security sensitive documents were also found, sources said.

Based on the findings, the Special Cell arrested the accused on espionage charges. During interrogation, he reportedlyclaimed that he was from Karachi in Pakistan. After being induced by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to work as a spy against monetary compensation, he was trained and then sent to Nepal by air, from where he illegally entered the country through the porous Indo-Nepal border, sources said.

The accused disclosed that he had been staying in the Shahdara area of northeast Delhi for the past four years. According to sources, he managed to procure some identification documents — like a driving licence — showing him as an Indian citizen.

The police have so far not come across any evidence to suggest that the accused had earlier gone out of India through legal or illegal means. He remained in contact with his Pakistan-based handlers mostly through e-mail. He made calls using public telephones that are now being identified. Efforts are also being made to extract details of the e-mails sent by him.

The accused is being taken to different parts of U.P., including Lucknow, to identify the places he visited and also to track down his local contacts.

reported by Devesh K. Pandey (The Hindu)