A soldier has admitted trying to spy for a foreign country, making it one of the most unusual court martial cases in New Zealand’s history.
Soldier Faces Rare Espionage Charges in New Zealand
The man, whose name cannot be published due to suppression orders, appeared at Linton Military Camp. He is the first person in New Zealand’s military history to face a charge of espionage.
The case has been surrounded by secrecy since it began in 2020. At that time, the soldier was facing 17 charges linked to espionage. Later, these were reduced to three charges: attempted espionage, accessing a computer for dishonest purposes, and possessing objectionable material.
In March this year, he admitted his guilt in a judge-alone hearing. On Monday, he repeated his guilty pleas in front of a military panel, which then found him guilty. The decision followed closed-door hearings, which examined sensitive details of his actions.
According to the court, the soldier’s crimes took place in December 2019. He tried to provide maps and directories of military bases and attempted to share login details for the Defence Force’s computer systems. These actions could have harmed New Zealand’s security.
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The case came to light after police began monitoring individuals linked to far-right groups following the Christchurch mosque attack. The soldier was identified as a person of interest during this time.
When police spoke to him about his involvement with these groups, he dismissed the concerns, describing them as community-focused. Soon after, an undercover police officer made contact, pretending to represent a foreign country.
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The soldier agreed to help. In one of their first meetings, he handed over a handwritten note outlining how he could provide useful information. A few days later, he gave the officer a black bag. Inside were documents related to army courses and a light infantry handbook, which he had found at his military housing property.
He went further by offering to supply mapping data and even suggested the possibility of smuggling a covert device into the camp. In another meeting, he delivered an aerial map of the Defence Armament Depot at Kauri Point and a letter pointing out security weaknesses at Linton Military Camp.
These documents were considered highly sensitive and were seen as material that could weaken the security of the country.
Links to Far-Right Groups and Possession of Banned Material
The soldier also faced charges for holding banned content. Police searched his home and found a hard drive. On it was the livestream of the Christchurch mosque attack. The drive also had the shooter’s manifesto. In New Zealand, keeping such material is against the law.
At the time of his arrest in 2020, the soldier was 27 years old and already known to have connections with far-right groups, including Action Zealandia. These associations had placed him under the radar of police investigators.
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The identity of the foreign country he attempted to supply information to has been permanently suppressed by the court. Arguments over whether his own name should remain permanently hidden are still being considered.
Judge Kevin Riordon led the court martial. He said the soldier’s actions put the country’s security at risk. The case is serious because it involved secret military information.
This court martial is rare in New Zealand. It is one of the few times a serving soldier has been linked to spying. Many details cannot be shared because of suppression orders. But the case has already made history as the first of its kind in the Defence Force.
