MELBOURNE (Sky News Australia) — The head of Australia’s intelligence community has reportedly played a crucial role in securing the release of Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert from an Iranian prison.

The Australian revealed National Intelligence Director-General Nick Warner led a secret year-long effort to secure a prisoner swap deal. The deal involved high level negotiations with the Thai and Iranian governments.

Ms Moore-Gilbert was serving a 10-year sentence on trumped up espionage charges. Iranian authorities detained her after discovering she had been in a relationship with an Iranian citizen.