Philippine man arrested for selling U.S. spy plane on eBay

Philippine man arrested for selling U.S. spy plane on eBay

2011-03-30 06:44:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

TAMPA, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) -- A foreign national from the Philippines was charged for smuggling an unmanned spy plane into the U.S. and offering it for sale on Internet auction and shopping website eBay, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) said.

Henson Chua, 47, of Manilla, Philippines, was arrested on a criminal complaint on February 10 in Los Angeles, after he imported a defense article on the U.S. Munitions List, an RQ-11B 'Raven' Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and attempted to export it without a license or written authorization from the U.S. Department of State.

After placing the item on eBay for $13,000, Chua began communicating with undercover agents from ICE Homeland Security Investigations posing to be potential buyers.

On his eBay listing, Chua posted several pictures of the drone, including its bar code and ID number, allowing U.S. Defense Department agents to identify the aircraft. According to Chua's emails to the agents, he had initially purchased the drone in an auction by the Philippine government.

With violations of the Arms Export Control Act and smuggling, if convicted on all counts, Chua faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

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