Two Taiwanese nationals who were arrested on drug charges earlier this year allegedly also were trying to acquire and export to China U.S. military technology, including unmanned-drone and stealth technology, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said Wednesday.
Hui Sheng Shen, 45 years old, and Haun Ling Chang, 41, were originally arrested in February and charged in a scheme to illegally import 50 kilograms of methamphetamines through the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Elizabeth, N.J.
The pair allegedly told undercover agents investigating illegal smuggling of counterfeit goods and other items through the port that they were acting on behalf of agents of the Chinese government and wanted to acquire a variety of U.S. military technology, prosecutors said in an amended complaint made public Wednesday.
“The charges against Shen and Chang illustrate starkly why we do this work, and what is at stake when the security of our ports is breached for any reason,” said Paul J. Fishman, the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. “National security isn’t an a la carte enterprise. The same conduits that bring knockoff sneakers flood our communities with illegal drugs and establish dangerous criminal relationships.”
At a daily briefing by China’s Foreign Ministry, spokesman Liu Weimin said he was aware of the report but wasn’t aware of any specifics.
Mr. Shen, who prosecutors said portrays himself as a logistics expert, and Ms. Chang, who portrays herself as a schoolteacher fluent in multiple languages, were among two dozen people charged in March when prosecutors announced they had shut down one of the largest counterfeit-goods smuggling operations ever uncovered.
“Ms. Chang maintains her innocence,” said Maria Noto, her lawyer. “We believe ultimately she’ll be vindicated.”
A lawyer for Mr. Shen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Federal agents had been investigating Mr. Shen and Ms. Chang since February 2011 in connection with alleged narcotics smuggling, according to the criminal complaint.
In September 2011, the pair allegedly asked undercover federal agents if they could obtain and pass along highly sensitive American military technology, saying they wanted to obtain it for a “secret assistant” to a well-known and high-ranking Chinese official, prosecutors said. Mr. Shen later called the people they were working for “spies” and part of “some kind of intelligence company for Chinese government—like CIA,” according to the criminal complaint.
The technology allegedly included nuclear technology, unmanned drones, control panels of aircraft engaged in advanced radar warning systems and F-22 stealth technology, prosecutors said.
In one conversation, an undercover agent allegedly said, “I would prefer not to make money on something that would hurt the United States,” according to the criminal complaint.
Mr. Shen replied, “I think that all items would hurt America,” according to the complaint.
Source: The Wall Street Journal