Chinese-origin Canadian NATO intern arrested on spying suspicions

A Canadian citizen of Chinese origin suspected of carrying out "espionage on behalf of a third country" while on an internship at NATO has been arrested in Belgium, authorities said on Saturday.

The intern, who worked at the US-led defence alliance's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, was arrested on Thursday, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

"She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organisation," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

"The suspect had come to the attention of SHAPE's security services, who reported the matter to the General Intelligence and Security Service," the office added, without specifying the nature of the alleged spying.

After taking up the case, the prosecutor's office entrusted the investigation to the federal judicial police in Charleroi, which carried out searches on Thursday at the suspect's home, as well as at her workplace.

A magistrate subsequently served the suspect with an arrest warrant on Friday.