I don't feel safe in the UK regarding the spying risk
In the shadow of Britain's own immigration systems, a Border Force officer at Heathrow spent years selling the whereabouts of Hong Kong dissidents to Chinese intelligence handlers — a betrayal that turned the machinery of asylum into an instrument of transnational repression. Chi Leung Wai, convicted on May 7, 2026 under the National Security Act, exploited unchecked access to Home Office databases to hunt the very people Britain had implicitly promised refuge. His case is not merely one of individual treachery, but a mirror held up to the fragility of institutional trust — and the long reach of authoritarian states into the lives of those who dare to flee them.
- A man entrusted with Britain's border security was quietly selling dissidents' home addresses to the government they had risked everything to escape.
- Activists with bounties on their heads — including Nathan Law and Finn Lau — were being tracked, followed, and in at least one case physically attacked on British streets.
- The operation escalated from database searches to a physical break-in at a woman's flat in West Yorkshire, recorded in full by an MI5 audio device planted inside.
- A fellow officer drawn into the surveillance network was found dead in a suspected suicide shortly after counter-terrorism police made their arrests.
- Both convicted men now await sentencing, while the Foreign Office summons the Chinese ambassador and security officials confront the exposure of years of unmonitored database access.
- The dissidents Wai targeted remain in the UK, living cautiously — watching their surroundings, varying their routes — aware their details were once commodities in a foreign intelligence operation.
Chi Leung Wai joined Britain's Border Force at Heathrow in December 2020, bringing with him something his employers did not know: he had already been tracking Hong Kong pro-democracy figures for Chinese intelligence. His government role gave him unrestricted access to Home Office immigration databases — searchable on days off, on sick leave, with no apparent oversight. He used it to locate dissidents who had fled Hong Kong's crackdowns, referring to them in messages as "cockroaches," and sold their details to handlers for cash.
Around mid-2021, Chung Biu Yuen — a former Hong Kong police officer working at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London — became Wai's handler. The two had met years earlier at a Chinatown restaurant. Together they ran an operation that monitored pro-democracy activists across the UK, tracked British politicians including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and focused particular attention on high-profile targets. Nathan Law, a prominent activist, carried a bounty of roughly £100,000 placed by Hong Kong's chief executive. Finn Lau, another dissident, was later mysteriously beaten in London. Wai tasked a fellow Border Force officer, Matthew Trickett — a former Royal Marine — with physically following Law to the Oxford Union. Trickett died in a suspected suicide shortly after the men were arrested.
The operation moved beyond surveillance in early 2024, when Wai used his database access to locate Monica Kwong, a woman accused of financial wrongdoing in Hong Kong — accusations she denies. He found her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, where she lived with her young son. On May 1, 2024, a group including former Hong Kong officers broke into the empty flat. MI5 had anticipated the move and planted a recording device inside, capturing the entire intrusion.
Wai's background was extensive: eight years in the Royal Navy, four years as a Metropolitan Police officer, volunteer constable work, and his own private security company. He held both British and Hong Kong passports. Yuen had similarly leveraged dual citizenship to embed himself in London's institutional landscape after retiring from the Hong Kong Police Force in 2015.
On May 7, 2026, a jury convicted both men. Wai was found guilty of working for a foreign intelligence service; Yuen of assisting the operation. Sentencing is scheduled for May 15. Security Minister Dan Jarvis condemned the case as "an infringement of our sovereignty." What it also exposed was something harder to remedy: a single officer with database access could surveil people on behalf of a foreign state for years, entirely undetected — while the people he hunted tried to learn, quietly, how not to be followed.
Chi Leung Wai held a job that gave him access to the names, addresses, and movements of nearly everyone entering Britain. As a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport starting in December 2020, he could search the Home Office immigration database whenever he wanted—on his days off, on sick leave, with apparently no one watching. He used that access to hunt Hong Kong dissidents who had fled to the UK, selling their locations and details to Chinese intelligence handlers in exchange for cash. On May 7, 2026, a jury found him guilty of working for a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act. A second man, Chung Biu Yuen, a former Hong Kong police officer who worked at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, was convicted alongside him of assisting the operation.
Wai's work as a spy predated his government job. Before joining Border Force, he had already begun tracking Hong Kongers who had fled pro-democracy crackdowns, referring to them in internal messages as "cockroaches." When Yuen became his handler around mid-2021—the two men had been introduced at a Chinatown restaurant in 2017—Wai began reporting directly to him about the activities of dissidents and pro-democracy protesters across the UK. The operation paid attention to British politicians too, including Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith. Wai also drew in Matthew Trickett, a fellow Border Force officer and former Royal Marine, to help with surveillance work. Trickett was found dead in a suspected suicide soon after the men were arrested by counter-terrorism police.
The targets were not abstract. Nathan Law, a high-profile activist, had a bounty of roughly £100,000 on his head placed by Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu in 2023. So did Finn Lau, a democracy protester who had escaped Hong Kong after arrest and was later mysteriously beaten in London. In November 2023, Wai tasked Trickett with following Law to the Oxford Union. Lau told the BBC he no longer felt safe in Britain. "That's why we have been taking different sorts of measures to try to protect ourselves—like being cautious all the time, looking around, trying to even adopt some maybe anti-following tactics," he said.
The operation extended beyond surveillance into direct action. In early 2024, Wai used his database access to track down Monica Kwong, a woman accused of stealing money from her employer in Hong Kong—an accusation she strongly denies. He located her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, where she was living with her young son. On April 30, 2024, Tina Zou, the woman claiming Kwong owed her money, arrived at Heathrow with colleagues and former Hong Kong police officers. What followed was orchestrated by Wai and Trickett with Yuen's knowledge: the group traveled to Pontefract to confront Kwong. When she did not answer her door, they escalated. Trickett left a note claiming to be "Dave from maintenance" and poured water under the door, claiming there was a leak. On May 1, they broke into the flat, which was empty. MI5 had planted an audio device inside and recorded the entire intrusion.
Wai's career in British security had been long and varied. He served eight years in the Royal Navy, worked as a Metropolitan Police officer from 2015 to 2019, volunteered as a constable for City of London Police, and ran his own security company called D5 Security. He held both British and Hong Kong passports. Yuen, similarly, had moved to London in 2015 after retiring from the Hong Kong Police Force, taking advantage of his dual citizenship. He joined the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, which had been established to promote trade but became increasingly politicized after the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
When police moved in on the Pontefract operation, Wai threw a fake warrant card out the window—one that falsely identified him as a superintendent in the City of London Police. The jury could not reach agreement on whether the break-in constituted "foreign interference," and prosecutors decided not to pursue a retrial on that charge. Both men were remanded in custody pending sentencing scheduled for May 15.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis called the operation "an infringement of our sovereignty" that would "never be tolerated." The Chinese ambassador will be summoned by the Foreign Office. Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, described the pair's activities as "both sinister and chilling." The case has exposed a stark vulnerability: a man with access to Britain's immigration database could operate for years, tracking people on behalf of a foreign state, with no apparent oversight of his database searches. The dissidents he targeted remain in the UK, living with the knowledge that their location and details were sold to the very government they fled.
Citações Notáveis
I don't feel safe in the UK regarding the spying risk. That's why we have been taking different sorts of measures to try to protect ourselves—like being cautious all the time, looking around, trying to even adopt some maybe anti-following tactics.— Finn Lau, Hong Kong dissident targeted for surveillance
An infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated. We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at risk.— Security Minister Dan Jarvis
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Wai have access to this database in the first place? Wasn't there any vetting?
He was a Border Force officer at Heathrow—that's a legitimate government job. The problem wasn't the job itself. It was that once he had access, there were apparently no checks on how he used it. He could search on his days off, on sick leave, and no one was monitoring those searches.
So he was essentially selling information about people who had come to Britain seeking safety?
Exactly. These were people who had fled Hong Kong after the pro-democracy crackdowns. They came to the UK thinking they'd be safe. Instead, a government employee was tracking them and selling their locations to Chinese handlers for money.
What about Yuen? How did he fit into this?
Yuen was the bridge. He was a former Hong Kong police officer working at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. He became Wai's handler—the person Wai reported to directly about what he'd found. They'd been introduced at a restaurant in Chinatown, and by 2021, Yuen was running the operation from the London end.
The Pontefract break-in—that seems like a different kind of crime altogether.
It does, but it's the same network. Wai used his database access to find Monica Kwong, then organized a team to go to her flat. They broke in while she wasn't there. MI5 had bugged the place and recorded everything. The jury couldn't agree it was "foreign interference," but it shows how far the operation had escalated.
What happened to Trickett?
He was found dead in a suspected suicide after they were arrested. He was a fellow Border Force officer, a former Royal Marine, and he'd been helping Wai with the surveillance work. His inquest is scheduled for November.
And the dissidents themselves—are they still in danger?
One of them, Finn Lau, told the BBC he doesn't feel safe in the UK anymore. He's taking anti-surveillance measures, being constantly cautious. These people came to Britain for protection and ended up being hunted by their own government's employees.