Two Men Indicted for Missile Smuggling Conspiracy

(Los Angeles) A federal grand jury indicted two men today for conspiring to smuggle shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles into the United States.

From Reuters.com:

Chao Tung Wu and Yi Qing Chen became the first defendants indicted under a federal smuggling law enacted last December, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

They were charged with conspiring with unnamed foreign nationals to smuggle into the United States missile systems designed to destroy aircraft, charges that carry maximum penalties of 25 years in prison.

Wu and Chen were already being held without bail on charges related to a conspiracy to smuggle counterfeit money, cigarettes and drugs into the United States and distribute methamphetamine and ecstasy.

The two will be arraigned next week.

Wu and Chen were initially arrested, along with 85 others, during a federal undercover investigation called Operation Smoking Dragon. In my opinion, this case illustrates the value and need for undercover anti-terrorism operations.

Companion at In The Bullpen.