Advertisement

Four charged with spying for China

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- FBI agents in Los Angeles arrested four ethnic Chinese who allegedly stole U.S. military technology and attempted to smuggle it to China on encrypted CDs.

The material included research into silent propulsion systems for U.S. warships, the South China Morning Post reported Friday. U.S. laws ban export of such defense-related technologies to China.

Advertisement

One of the four, Mak Chi, is an engineer with Power Paragon of Anaheim, Calif., a subsidiary of L-3/SPD Technologies/Power Systems Group, a defense contractor that develops advanced technologies for naval systems.

Mak had high-level clearance and was the lead project engineer on a research project involving Quiet Electric Drive technology for use aboard U.S. Navy warships.

An FBI affidavit said Mak transferred information concerning QED from his workplace to his home and copied it onto CDs, which he delivered to his brother, Mak Tai-wing, for encryption and delivery to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The brothers allegedly planned to smuggle other information to China as well.

Among rubbish in his home, agents found shredded Chinese documents, which they reconstructed, containing instructions to Mak Chi to join professional associations and participate in seminars with "special subject matter."

Advertisement

One directed him to gather information on a number of military technologies, including space-based military systems.

Mak Tai-wing and his wife were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last Friday night as they were about to board a flight for Hong Kong, the newspaper said. Mak Chi and his wife were arrested at their home.

Mak Chi is being held without bond, while his brother was to appear at a bond hearing Friday, the newspaper said. If convicted of stealing U.S. government property, the brothers and their wives could face prison terms of up to 10 years plus fines.

Latest Headlines