Men plead not guilty in LA to missile-smuggling conspiracy

ap on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 11/21/05 | ap - Los Angeles

[NormsRevenge]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two men pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges of conspiring to smuggle shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles into the United States for use abroad.

Chao Tung Wu, 51, and Yi Qing Chen, 41, are both naturalized citizens born in China, according to authorities. The men are accused of agreeing to arrange shipment of the missiles from a country not named in the indictment.

Authorities have said the alleged conspiracy did not involve domestic terrorism, and the men were told by an undercover agent the missiles would be sent abroad.

Chen's lawyer Terrence Roden said outside court the case was "seriously overcharged" and no weapons were exchanged.

Wu's lawyer Gerson Horn questioned the government's case, which he says alleges a conspiracy "conceived, nurtured and orchestrated by the undercover agent."

The U.S. attorney's office has said the charges against Wu, of La Puente, and Chen, of Rosemead, mark the first time a 2004 anti-terrorism law has been used. The law calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years if convicted.

The men have been in custody since August when they were arrested as part of a federal undercover probe into smuggling in Southern California. They were originally charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and Ecstasy and importing millions of counterfeit cigarettes.

The men were previously ordered held without bond.

[staytrue]

conspiring to smuggle shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles into the United States for use abroad.

These two men are really stupid for falling for this, if that is story the undercover agent was selling. Importing missles to export missles makes no sense at all.