09 October 2024 , 15:25
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The former member of the Royal Signals, who denies the charges, told MI6 he wanted to be a double agent, a jury hears.
A former British soldier who is accused of escaping from prison while on remand charged with passing secrets to Iran "delivered a package" to his handlers on a trip to Turkey, a court has heard.
Daniel Khalife, 23, is accused of collecting and sharing sensitive information with foreign agents over more than two years between May 2019 and January 2022 after joining the army just before his 17th birthday.
The court heard that months into his first post with the Royal Signals, based at Beacon Barracks, in Stafford, he offered to stay in the military for more than 25 years and do what they asked.
He contacted MI6 saying he wanted to be a "double agent" and later told police his contact with the Iranians was all a double bluff, a jury has been told.
Woolwich Crown Court has heard he picked up £1,500 in a dog poo bag from Mill Hill park in Barnet, north London, in August 2019, making a second £1,000 cash collection from Kensal Green Cemetery, in North Kensington, in October 2021.
Prosecutor Mark Haywood KC said Khalife flew with Turkish Airlines and stayed at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel between 4 and 10 August 2020, having originally planned to go on to Iran.
Pictures found on his phone show him inside and outside the hotel, while in an audio message Khalife apparently reported what happened to a third party, the court heard.
Khalife, whose mother is from Iran, said they "were supposed to meet in your country" but "we went to Turkey and the plan kind of went sour, um, they didn’t plan it properly".
"I delivered a package for them," he added.
The prosecutor said it "clearly shows that one of the reasons or one of the charges taken by Khalife on this visit was to deliver a package", and that he wanted to "hand over information in whatever form to his interlocutors in Iran".
On his return to the UK, Khalife took pictures of a Selex Sentinel phone handset, hardware made for use by the UK’s most specialist forces, and apparently sent it to an Iranian agent calling himself "David Smith".
In one chat, Smith said, "We are so loyal to our friends. We can work together a lot of years", and Khalife demonstrated his "long term support and commitment", said Mr Heywood.
Khalife replied: "Absolutely, I won’t leave the military until you tell me to. 25+ years."