In Canada, a senior police intelligence officer has been arrested on suspicion of stealing secret documents that could have "devastating" consequences for the country's security and its allies. As the Globe and Mail newspaper reported, Cameron Ortis, director-general of the CIA intelligence agency, was exposed as a suspected spy when he wanted to sell sensitive information to organized crime.
47-year-old Ortis has worked for the Federal Police since 2007, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), according to a recent statement from the agency on the case. He therefore had access to intelligence information from home and abroad.
He was tracked down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after discovering one of the internal police documents on the laptop of a detained Canadian businessman linked to organized crime.
The RCMP claims to support the FBI investigation in 2018 - and as part of this work, suspicions arose that there was a leak in its ranks. Corresponding investigations would have led to the arrest of Ortis last Thursday. "The news of his arrest has shaken many people in the RCMP," the statement says.
Update on the arrest of RCMP employee. Read the statement from the Commissioner: https://t.co/XPTZcYplus
- RCMP (@rcmpgrcpolice) September 17, 2019The disclosure of intelligence could cause serious harm to Canada and its allies, CBC said, citing a report by the Canadian intelligence service. "This kind of information hits the heart of Canada's sovereignty and security," the station quoted from the report. It could therefore give information to foreign services about the aims, techniques, methods and capabilities of the Canadian intelligence services and their allies.
According to information from CBC, Ortis was heavily in debt. He is therefore suspected, the sale of sensitive information to other states, criminal gangs or terrorist organizations planned - or have already done.
Trudeau: "We take the information very seriously"
According to police chief Brenda Lucki Ortis should have stolen the documents between 2016 and 2019. Which foreign organizations are affected was left open. She just said the investigation was continuing. Canada is a member of the so-called Five Eyes, an alliance of intelligence services that includes Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday his country takes the information very seriously. Canada is in contact with all its allies about potential security risks. Should Ortis be convicted for violating the law against foreign espionage and national security, he faces up to 30 years imprisonment.