Arrested German 'Islamist spy' was once a gay porn actor, say reports

An arrested German intelligence agency employee suspected of offering official secrets online and making Islamist comments to undercover agents was once a gay porn actor, say reports. The 51-year-old suspect was working for the Das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV ), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, before his arrest.

A detailed report by the Washington Post claims his arrest came after German counter-intelligence agents began chatting to a man who claimed to be a spy in a chatroom known to be used by extremists. After they invited him to a private chat, he quickly began to offer them information that could help attackers plan a strike on the BfV's Cologne headquarters.

He allegedly gave up so much detailed information that he was arrested the next day. The newspaper reported that the suspect is a German citizen of Spanish descent who secretly converted to Islam in 2014.

The man was also said to be a married father-of-four and investigators later found that his online alias had been used before, as recently as 2011, for a stage name he used whilst acting in gay porn films.

His arrest, first reported in Der Spiegel, was on suspicion of preparing to commit a violent act and for violating state secrecy laws. Now the Washington Post say they have spoken to a senior intelligence official and a senior law enforcement official who revealed more details about the arrest.

They said the man was employed by BfV in April 2016 to monitor potentially violent Islamists. Although he was "thoroughly vetted" at the time of his hiring, some of the interviewers believed he may have been mentally ill and may have had multiple personalities, according to the senior intelligence official.

It was also reported that the suspect had offered to facilitate access to the spy agency's Cologne headquarters to commit violent acts against "unbelievers". Once arrested, the alleged mole was then said to have told police he was a secret convert to Islam, and his aim had always been to infiltrate the domestic spy agency to warn "his religious brothers" about secret operations.

The officials told the newspaper that there is no evidence, as of yet, that the suspect provided harmful details to Islamic militants. German police are also probing the link between the man and an extremist in Austria named Mohammed.