Kiwis Catch Alleged Spy in Compound

An intruder was apprehended as he entered New Zealand’s America’s Cup compound at Coronado apparently to spy late Thursday night, a syndicate spokesperson said Friday.

“It’s the first such incident we’ve had,” Maria Ryan said. “He admitted accepting money to get into our place.”

Neither the intruder’s identity nor that of his alleged employer were revealed.

“We know his nationality, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Ryan said. “He didn’t get anywhere that he shouldn’t have been.”

Ryan said the Coronado police detained the intruder, but a spokesperson said the department had no record of the incident.

Like other syndicates, New Zealand’s has guards on duty around the clock but beefed up its security after the incident, Ryan said. The Kiwis already planned to tighten the watch for the arrival of their fourth and final boat in December.

“There will be a lot of security surrounding that boat,” Ryan said. “We need to protect our advantage, especially since that’s the boat we’ll be sailing in the Cup. There will be guards everywhere.”