Australia Exposed “Highly Trained” Spies Operating In The Country, Says Intelligence Chief

According to Australia’s intelligence chief, Mike Burgess, a “hive” of spies that had been operating in Australia for years have been exposed. Burgess didn’t mention any of the nations that might have been responsible for the network, but he claimed that the agents appeared to be “highly trained.”

Burgess further said that the group studied and “potentially seduced” targets including judges, journalists and veterans and declared that such acts demonstrated a greater threat than ever from foreign espionage.

The head of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (Asio), who presented his yearly threat assessment in Canberra, described a “concerted campaign” to infiltrate the media in Australia in order to influence reporting and gather information on sources.

He claimed that a “lackey” intended to provide journalists with completely free study tours to a foreign nation where spies with their “home-ground advantage” and looking to exploit would try to gather information.

A week after the government disclosed that an Iranian plot targeting a dissident in Australia had been stopped, Burgess also discussed unsuccessful attempts from two distinct nations to physically kill Australian citizens.

He just stated that the targets were opponents of other governments.

He said, “In one case, the intelligence service started monitoring a human rights activist and plotted to lure the target offshore, where the individual could be – quote – ‘disposed of’. In another, a lackey was dispatched to locate specific dissidents and – quote – ‘deal with them’.”

Asio purportedly eliminated the spies following an “intense and sustained” campaign, according to Burgess.

“They were good – but Asio was better… working with our partners, we removed them. The hive is history.Asio is… busier than any time in our 74-year history. Busier than the Cold War, busier than 9/11, busier than the height of the caliphate. From where I sit, it looks like hand-to-hand combat,” he said.

But, Burgess claimed that since Australia signed the Aukus security pact with the US and the UK, the threat posed by foreign intelligence has grown.

Thousands of “reckless” Australians who advertise their security clearances on social media networking sites, as well as former Australian defense personnel taking part in foreign military training programmes, were among the other targets of Burgess’ criticism in the speech.

“It is critical our allies know we can keep our secrets, and keep their secrets,” Burgess added.