Two indicted by federal grand jury for missile-smuggling plan News
Two indicted by federal grand jury for missile-smuggling plan

[JURIST] A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two men on charges that they sought to smuggle three surface-to-air missiles into the US for use abroad. Chao Tung Wu and Yi Qing Chen were charged under a 2004 anti-terror law [text], marking the first time it was used, and face a mandatory minimum 25-year sentence if convicted. Both men are naturalized US citizens from China, and they were arrested as part of a larger anti-smuggling probe by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California [official website] known as "Operation Smoking Dragon." Both were originally charged with conspiring to distribute drugs and importing counterfeit cigarettes. Both allegedly conspired with an undercover agent who sought to purchase the missiles and told them that they would be used abroad, but the weapons were never exchanged. The US Attorney's office has a news release on the indictment. AP has more.