(NEW YORK) — Secret Service agents believe they have cracked a plot that could have crippled the telecommunications network — and law enforcement functions — in the nation’s largest city as more than 150 world leaders descend this week on New York, officials said on Tuesday.

“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement.

Agents were first tipped off last spring, and officials believe the plot is connected to the Chinese government, according to one law enforcement source briefed on the probe.

The threat was uncovered as part of the Secret Service’s normal work of protecting the president, his family and key administration officials, the source said.

The ag

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