In another incident of ‘tech theft,’ a Chinese student studying in Russia has been detained for smuggling military products to his home country. The incident comes days after another Chinese national was charged with smuggling arms from the US to North Korea.
Local Russian media, citing the Federal Customs Department press department, reported that Russian Central Customs officials arrested a student who had set up a route for smuggling military supplies to his native China.
As per claims made by the reports, the student was enrolled at the Faculty of Aircraft Construction in one of the universities in Moscow. He allegedly bought the weapons on an online platform and managed to dispatch two parcels to China. More than 100 military items were allegedly recovered from his dormitory room, including bulletproof plates, bulletproof vests, and an anti-tank grenade launcher, among other items.
Since such actions fall under the clause “smuggling of military equipment,” law enforcement organizations have reportedly given the matter considerable attention.
Two criminal cases have been filed against the detained Chinese student, who remains on a no-depart list. EurAsian Times could not independently verify the claims made by local reports, and at the time of writing this report, China had yet to react to the alleged incident.
Russian law strictly prohibits the transfer of any military product without the requisite permissions, and violating these rules is likely to result in imprisonment.
The report further noted that the incident also demonstrates the challenges of regulating the online sale of military hardware. Military items like armor plates and shelves end up in private hands through illegitimate methods, raising the possibility of their illegal use. Law enforcement agencies are currently determining the origins of the military hardware and finding potential co-conspirators.
If Russia and China confirm the detention, it could further jeopardize the chances of Chinese students studying overseas. In recent years, several Chinese students have been charged with espionage.
For instance, South Korea disclosed in July 2024 that three Chinese students were apprehended for filming a US aircraft carrier with a drone. The drone hovered over the 100,000-ton USS Theodore Roosevelt for approximately five minutes before being detected by patrolling soldiers.
In another case, the same month, Shi Fengyun, a 26-year-old University of Minnesota graduate student, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor espionage charges for using a drone to take pictures of US military installations.
China has previously been accused by several nations, including the US and Germany, of amassing a spy army to monitor its foreign nationals and obtain confidential information about foreign technologies.
This army, they claim, includes unsuspecting Chinese students apart from professionals and researchers. This has also led to politicians calling for limiting the entry of Chinese students into their respective countries.
Chinese National Smuggled Arms From The US
An undocumented Chinese immigrant to the United States was arrested earlier this month on charges of supplying North Korea with weapons and ammunition and preparing to transfer other technology to the country that remains sanctioned by the US.
Shenghua Wen, 41, was engaged in the illegal trade while living in Ontario, Southern California, east of Los Angeles, on a visa that had expired.
According to court filings, at least two shipments of weapons and ammunition were shipped from the port in Long Beach, disguised in shipping containers, to Hong Kong and subsequently to North Korea. Officials said some material was confiscated by law enforcement in the United States before it could be shipped.
Notably, Wen entered the country in 2012 on a student visa. However, he stayed back after the visa expired, according to an affidavit included in the criminal complaint against Wen.
The Los Angeles U.S. attorney’s office disclosed that when police searched Wen’s house in September, they discovered almost 50,000 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition as well as a receiver that can identify eavesdropping devices.
According to the affidavit, Wen told US investigators that he met with North Korean officials at Chinese consulates before he arrived in the United States and that they had given him instructions to ship commodities to North Korea, which is subject to rigorous trade restrictions.
Wen claimed that two North Korean officials in China approached him in 2022 and asked him to deliver weapons and ammunition to North Korea, the affidavit added. He is alleged to have collaborated with other unidentified conspirators.
Wen informed investigators that the people he was in contact with asked him to provide engines from commercial airplanes to support the North Korean military’s drone program. Additionally, Wen’s phone displayed messages about a controller and component of the Star Safire system, a military infrared and video system used when flying.
The affidavit also mentioned that Wen was asked to smuggle military uniforms, which he believed would be used to launch a surprise attack on South Korea.
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