Norway Arrests Chinese Spies

Norwegian security police hits on two different cases of Chinese alleged espionage, one involving shipment of a 22-ton satellite receiver into the country. The other case, a Chinese national squatting near the Bodø air base.

Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) seized a container that had arrived in the port of Oslo, where they found a 22-ton satellite receiver. PST believes that the receiver was intended to be used on Andøya in the North of the country, close to military and space installations. Not much detail has been released about the container shipment, but it was certainly not consumer electronics for amateur radio hobbyists. The satellite station, ready to be installed, is intended for listening in on high-orbit satellites used for military communication, surveillance, and other types of intelligence gathering.

A Chinese woman was arrested on Andøya for complicity in attempted serious intelligence activities, relating to the satellite equipment. She was remanded in custody for four weeks with a letter and visitation ban, according to the report on the public service channel nrk.no/norge/kinesiske-…. PST says that two other persons have been charged in the case, and that they are abroad, probably in China. In addition, a private company has been charged in the case.

We believe and believe that the others are abroad. We do not know exactly where, but there is reason to believe that some of them are in China, said police attorney Thomas Blom at PST. There is uncertainty about whether they will return to Norway, he adds.

China is accused of being the mastermind behind the operation. PST has previously designated the country as a possible intelligence threat to Norway. In its yearly pst.no/wp-content/uploa… for 2026, PST writes:

Chinese intelligence has increased its capacity to conduct operations in Norway. Chinese security and intelligence services have increased their ability to conduct intelligence operations in Norway, both cyber operations and human sources. By 2026, Chinese intelligence actors will gather information, map Norwegian digital infrastructure, and threaten groups and individuals in the population to refrain from criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. We expect that more Chinese intelligence operations in Norway will be carried out by commercial cyber contractors and individuals who are not trained intelligence personnel but who operate on behalf of Chinese security and intelligence services.

Space collaboration

Earlier this year, German Chancellor Merz visited the Andøya Space Center on the northern coast just south of Andesnes. This satellite launching and testing site is aimed at improving space-based surveillance, communications, and the launches themselves, part of making Europe more self-sufficient in satellite and rocket launches.

German company Isar Aerospaces uses the Andøya site for assembly and launch. Merz and Norwegian PM Støre had a bilateral meeting and a roundtable discussion with Norwegian and German business leaders from the space and defense industries during Merz’ visit.

The use of satellites is crucial for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, maritime safety and the management of natural disasters. Not least, satellites are of crucial importance for national security and defense capability. Norway and Germany have close cooperation in this field, and I look forward to discussing and developing this further with the Chancellor says Jonas Gahr Støre.

Andøya Space Center on 23 March. Photo: Isar Aerospace and ESA Space Transport

Merz and Støre at the Andøya launching site on the coast just south of Andesnes. Photo: Martin Siewartz Nielsen / Kunnskapsdepartementet

See earlier post on NATO and space agency activities in Northern Norway:

The accused denies any wrongdoing

The company charged in the case has explained that they were going to use the receiver to collect weather data, in support of krill fishing. However, PST believes that the receiver was too powerful for this purpose. Commercial krill fishing takes place at the other end of the Earth, in Antarctica, as it were. Police says the equipment is more suitable for collecting data from military satellites and communication satellites, which travel higher than weather satellites. Krill fishing is basically prohibited in northern Norway and the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian: ‘We reject baseless and malicious accusations’. Photo, screen grab from nrk.no/video/6daf630f-e….

Further arrest

On Friday 15 May, the Nordland Police District in Bodø reported another arrest of a Chinese citizen detained for attempted espionage against state secrets. According to nrk.no/norge/kinesisk-s…, the new arrest relates to a different case than the earlier satellite receiver seizure. The district court decided to imprison the man for four weeks with a letter and visitation ban. Two of the weeks are in solitary confinement, for reasons of protecting the integrity of the police investigations. The accused denies any wrongdoing.

Several military facilities are and will be built in Nordland, including a central radar facility on Vestvågøy. The Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters is located on Reitan, east of Bodø.

Chinese spy found by locals

Local news site vol.no/nyheter/n/k08nB6… reports 18 May some details on the alleged spy and what happened.

The Chinese man who was taken into custody on Sunday is said to have been hiding in a bunker at Bodø air station, according to PST. The person charged in the espionage case allegedly tried to map military activity in Bodø.

– The charge is related to attempted illegal intelligence activities against state secrets, and it is related to the fact that the accused has been staying in a bunker at Bodø air station for some time, says police attorney Kathrine Tonstad to NTB.

PST adds that there is no information indicating that there is any connection between this case and the woman who was arrested on Andøya, charged with complicity in attempted serious intelligence activities against state secrets.

Another local source, through nettavisen.no/to-dager-…, said that the alleged spy was discovered by two teenagers visiting an unofficial planespotting site just outside the airport fence. They noticed some signs of human activity in an abandoned bunker.

We take down two bricks. Then we see both a sleeping bag and a mattress, as well as equipment for living in nature. There was both beer and Pringles there, and it looked like someone lived there. We thought maybe it was a homeless person.

Relatives then checked on the site and reported to the local police, leading to the arrest.

NATO’s new regional air operations center (CAOC) was officially opened at Bodø Air Station in October 2025 to lead allied air operations in the highlands and the Arctic. In December, it was decided that the center would become permanent at the air station. The airport is also the base for the Norwegian Air Force 330th squadron with rescue helicopters.

As mentioned, the police see no direct connection between the two cases, but both show that Chinese interest in the Arctic is growing. See earlier post on how China has attempted to establish an intelligence presence in the Arctic:

16. august 2024

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