Two foreign nationals have been charged for their role in a scheme to smuggle U.S. military equipment and technology — including missiles — into China, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The charges come as President Donald Trump and his administration have launched multiple efforts to beef up the vetting process for foreigners seeking visas in the U.S., particularly those from China.
Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom, were charged with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, conspiracy, smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Prosecutors believe that Cui was working on behalf of the Chinese government, according to court documents.
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Court documents allege that Cui, who is based in China, and Miller, who is a permanent resident in the U.S., sought to procure military equipment including missiles, an air defense radar, drones and cryptographic devices starting in November 2023. The two allegedly coordinated with two other individuals, who, unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, were working on behalf of the FBI, on ways to export the cryptographic device to China.
Cui and Miller allegedly discussed how to hide the cryptographic device in a blender, other small electronics or a motor starter — or ship the device to Hong Kong first — to avoid detection. They paid $10,000 as part of a deposit for the cryptographic device, court documents say.
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Additionally, Cui and Miller allegedly recruited two people to help them conduct a scheme that sought to silence an unnamed U.S. citizen from speaking out against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November 2023, court documents say.
Specifically, both Cui and Miller allegedly orchestrated a plot to surveil the U.S. citizen, install a tracking device on his or her car, slash the car’s tires, and purchase and destroy a pair of statues the U.S. citizen created of Xi and Xi’s wife.
However, the individuals that Cui and Miller allegedly recruited were actually working in coordination with the FBI, according to court documents.
“The defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday. “This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems.”
Cui and Miller were arrested by Serbian law enforcement officials in April at the request of the U.S. government and are currently detained in Serbia. The Justice Department said it is working with the Serbian government regarding their pending extraditions.
If convicted, Cui and Miller face up to five years in a U.S. prison for conspiracy, up to five years for interstate stalking, up to 10 years for smuggling, and up to 20 years for violating the Arms Export Control Act.
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told Fox News Digital that it is providing consular assistance to Miller following his arrest and “are in touch with the local authorities and his family.”
Separately, the State Department has unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at bolstering the screening process for various visa applicants seeking to come to the U.S. For example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in May that the agency was planning to “revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications” for those originating from China and Hong Kong.
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