The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles said Tah Wei Chao and Zhi Yong Guo were charged with knowingly trying to export the night-vision cameras to China without the appropriate export license.

Both defendants were arrested Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport, allegedly waiting to catch a plane to China with 10 cameras packed in their bags.

Prosecutors said in a written statement that Chao had purchased a total of 13 cameras from FLIR Systems in two separate transactions. FLIR told authorities that Chao was warned that the cameras could not be shipped to China without a permit.

Both men live in Beijing.