Spain says American, Mexican, South Korean citizens carried out attack on North Korea embassy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A view of North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Spanish authorities said police were investigating an incident last week at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in which a woman was hurt and, according to a North Korean government's aide, computers and cellphones also were stolen. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain has accused an American, Mexican and South Korean of carrying out an attack in broad daylight on North Korean Embassy in February, claiming the leader of a “criminal organization” offered the stolen data to the FBI.
A National Court judge lifted a secrecy order on Tuesday and announced that there was evidence of various crimes stemming from the embassy attack by a gang of 10 people, including trespassing, injuries, threats and burglary.
2 SUSPECTS IN NORTH KOREA EMBASSY ATTACK IN MADRID HAVE CIA ‘CONNECTIONS:’ REPORTS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adrian Hong Chang, a Mexican national and resident in the United States, was named as the leader of the criminal enterprise that managed to steal computers and documents from the embassy without being caught.
During the attack, the group allegedly shackled and gagged embassy workers for about four hours. Only after one woman managed to escape and began screaming, someone called up the authorities.
A woman walks past North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The assailants, with a number of computers on hand, fled in two luxury vehicles that belonged to the diplomatic mission and were later abandoned in a nearby street.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The judge said Hong Chang then fled to the U.S., where he got in touch with the FBI, offering the stolen information.
SPANISH POLICE INVESTIGATE INCIDENT AT NORTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN MADRID THAT LEFT WOMAN HURT
The supposed contact with the FBI comes just weeks after the Spanish intelligence officials said that at least two attackers had ties to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the U.S.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Although most of the [attackers] were Korean, at least two of them have been identified by Spanish intelligence services as having links to the US CIA,” local newspaper El Pais reported.
The CIA reportedly denied its involvement in the brazen operation, though “not in a very convincing manner,” the report added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Investigators also have said the attack was not the work of common criminals.
The incident, still under investigation, occurred five days before President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Fox News' Lucia Suarez, Katherine Lam and the Associated Press contributed to this report.