Revealed: Ex-Royal Marine, 37, accused of spying for Hong Kong who was found dead in a park tried to take his own life after his arrest
A former Royal Marine accused of spying for Hong Kong has been found dead under ‘unexplained’ circumstances.
Matthew Trickett, 37, was found in a park near his home on Sunday, just days after he was accused of carrying out surveillance and hostile reconnaissance on pro-democracy activists in Britain for Hong Kong’s intelligence service.
The suspected spy, who worked as an immigration enforcer for the Home Office, was due to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday charged with betraying his country.
His family said: ‘We mourn the loss of a beloved son, brother and family man.’
Police said yesterday they were treating the death as unexplained. But it can be revealed that prosecutors wanted to take Trickett into custody for his own safety, following a previous suicide attempt he made after his arrest.
Matthew Trickett, 37, was found in a park near his home on Sunday, just days after he was accused of conducting surveillance and hostile reconnaissance for Hong Kong’s intelligence agency.
It can be revealed that prosecutors wanted to take Trickett into custody for his own safety, following a previous suicide attempt he made after his arrest.
Nevertheless, the Afghanistan veteran was released on bail last Monday. Six days later he was found dead in Grenfell Park in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
In an extraordinary espionage case, the first of its kind, Trickett and two other men, Chi Leung Wai, 38, who works at Heathrow for the UK Border Force, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, a trade official, are jointly accused of carrying to carry out surveillance operations in Britain allegedly targeting regime dissidents.
It is the first time that someone has been accused of spying on British soil for Hong Kong’s intelligence service.
The trio were charged last Monday under the new National Security Act introduced last year to target those secretly working for hostile states in Britain.
Born in Poole, Dorset, in 1987, Trickett enlisted in the Royal Marines at the age of 19 and served for seven years, rising to the position of detachment commander.
He fought the Taliban and Somali pirates in the Red Sea before leaving the army in 2013. In 2021, he founded his own security company, where he worked as a bodyguard for engineers, foreign dignitaries and corporate organizations, as well as for wealthy families.
Trickett was subsequently employed by the UK Border Force at Heathrow before joining Home Office Immigration Enforcement on February 21 this year.
When he appeared in court last Monday, there were concerns about his health after he attempted suicide two days earlier.
Kashif Malik, prosecuting, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court: ‘On Saturday morning he tried to harm himself and commit suicide. The SWAT team intervened and he is now under 24-hour surveillance.
“On two separate occasions he told custody sergeants that he will kill himself if released and that he has nothing to live for. We don’t know how realistic that is, but… because he has already tried to harm himself in prison, he should be taken into custody for his own safety.’
Trickett was found dead in Grenfell Park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, six days after his release
But Julian Hayes, defending, downplayed the suicide attempt, which he blamed on Trickett’s medical condition.
He said: ‘He suffers from hypogonadism, a hormone deficiency that requires testosterone, which he takes every other day.
‘He couldn’t get that in custody and as a result his mood collapsed and he tried to self-harm. It was more of a cry for help than a genuine effort.”
Mr Hayes told the court it was ‘in the interests of his own welfare’ to release Trickett on bail and suggested he could report to a police station daily.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said Trickett’s body had been found six days later: ‘At around 5.15pm on Sunday, officers attended Grenfell Park, Maidenhead.
‘Emergency treatment was initiated but unfortunately the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“An investigation into the death is ongoing, which is currently being treated as unexplained.”
The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
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