Richard Ferguson

Birkins, Rolex and a $400,000 mystery item: police raid on home of alleged Chinese spy A woman accused of spying on a Canberra Buddhist association was paid more than $200,000 by the Chinese government, and was taking instructions from a mysterious security official over encrypted messaging platform WeChat, federal police officers will allege. Officers executing a search warrant on the woman’s home last month located hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ­luxury goods, according to fresh court documents, including a Rolex watch receipt and large boxes of high-end handbags “that were too numerous to practicably count”. Police also found a receipt for a mystery item costing $400,000. The woman, who cannot be named due to a suppression order, is alleged to have been working as a “proxy” to covertly gather ­information for an official working for China’s security bureau about Canberra’s Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Association. Full story in The Australian: l.taus.au/C3U