Chao Tung Wu, 51, of La Puente and Yi Qing Chen, 41, of Rosemead, both naturalized U.S. citizens, were initially charged with conspiring to smuggle methamphetamine, Ecstasy, and counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes. The smuggling ring was broken up in August when federal law enforcement authorities arrested 59 people on both coasts who allegedly belonged to what they described as a "one-stop-shopping" crime organization.
But on November 9, federal authorities obtained a new indictment accusing them of also brokering the sale of 200 Chinese-made QW-2 missiles to an undercover FBI agent. The QW-2 is a heat-seeking missile with a range of 3.7 miles. It is patterned after the U.S.-made Stinger missile.
The indictment grew out of a sting investigation in which the undercover agent, beginning in September 2004, established contact with the two men, posing as a dealer in contraband goods. Wu and Chen made trips overseas to arrange for the purchase, which allegedly involved a "general" in "Country One" and various other foreign nationals who were cited as un-indicted co-conspirators.
Wu and Chen, who are being held without bond, face 25-year-to-life prison sentences if convicted. (Source: David Rosenzweig and Greg Krikorian, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 10, 2005).