A British man has been arrested in the US for allegedly trying to smuggle “sensitive American military technology” to China. John Miller, 63, was arrested alongside a Chinese man, Cui Guanghi, in Serbia on charges of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and conspiracy, smuggling and violations of the Arms Control Act following an FBI investigation. Mr Miller, who is a permanent US resident, and his Chinese associate, 43, have been detained in Serbia and now face extradition back to the US, the BBC reports.
The 63-year-old Brit could receive up to 20 years in prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act, and be sentenced to a decade behind bars for smuggling. The two men allegedly splashed £7,430 ($10,000) on high-tech equipment for encryption and decryption and attempted to procure US defence equipment for export to China.
They are said to have tried to obtain US missiles, air defence radar, drones and cryptographic devices, and discussed methods of transporting the items overseas, including through smuggling them in electrical devices and a blender.
Mr Miller and Mr Cui also allegedly tried to “harass” an anti-Chinese government activist, targeting them by slashing their tyres and installing a tracking device on their car.
“This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on US soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defence systems,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The pair tried to recruit two other US-based people for involvement in a plot to prevent another anti-Chinese protestor from demonstrating against President Xi Jinping’s attendence of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Los Angeles in 2023, according to the indictment documents.
They were unaware that the two recruits, referred to as “Individual 1” and “Individual 2”, were acting on orders from the FBI.
Two others, also linked to the FBI, were allegedly paid £26,745 ($36,000) to try to talk another victim out of unveiling statues of the Chinese president and his wife earlier this year.
The US Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California said: “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
