Two 17-year-old boys have been apprehended in the Netherlands on suspicion of ‘state interference,’ with reported connections to Russian espionage activities, according to prosecutors. Dutch media revealed that the teenagers were allegedly contacted by pro-Russian hackers via the messaging app Telegram. One of the suspects was reportedly spotted near the offices of Europol, Eurojust, and the Canadian embassy in The Hague, carrying a ‘wi-fi sniffer’—a device capable of identifying and intercepting wi-fi networks. The duo appeared in court on Thursday, where one was ordered to remain in detention, while the other was placed under strict home bail conditions pending a hearing scheduled within the next two weeks. The father of one of the boys informed De Telegraaf, a Dutch newspaper, that his son was arrested on Monday afternoon while completing his homework. He stated that police linked the arrest to espionage and providing services to a foreign nation. The teenager, described as tech-savvy with a keen interest in hacking, also works part-time at a supermarket. The Netherlands’ domestic intelligence and security agency declined to comment on the case when approached by the BBC.
