US warrant issued for Adrian Hong, accused ringleader of North Korean embassy raid in Madrid
- Hong is wanted by Spain in connection with the February raid, but his lawyer claims extradition is based on ‘unreliable accounts’ of embassy staff
The warrant, citing information from Spanish authorities, describes Hong as the mastermind of a raid by seven individuals on the North Korean embassy in Madrid on February 22 that began with Hong posing as a visiting businessman.
He and six fellow intruders, armed with knives, iron bars, machetes and fake pistols, stormed the embassy, restrained and physically beat the charge d’affaires and other employees and held them captive for several hours before fleeing, according to the warrant.
They got away with computer equipment and a mobile phone stolen from the embassy, which Hong presented days later to the FBI in New York after fleeing back to the United States, the warrant says.
A Spanish judicial course said earlier this week that the FBI later handed the material over to Spanish authorities who have since returned it to Pyongyang’s mission in Madrid.