A 22-year-old University of Waterloo student made 24 trips across the U.S. border

X ^ | September 2, 2026 | UnveiledChina

[Twotone]

A 22-year-old University of Waterloo student made 24 trips across the U.S. border to covertly map critical airport infrastructure for a suspected Chinese intelligence handler.

According to a 19-page FBI affidavit filed in federal court, Chinese citizen Weiheng Zeng was arrested at the Ambassador Bridge in August 2026. Surveillance cameras at Chicago O’Hare previously caught him climbing forklifts, walking fence lines, and trying to open locked shipping containers at a FedEx facility. He carried out a similar operation at Toronto Pearson airport after being confronted inside by an employee.

To evade North American surveillance, Zeng used a dedicated Huawei phone with China Telecom SIM cards mailed from overseas every few months, routing all communications directly through Chinese provider networks. He was paid $20 to $30 per accepted photo into a Bank of China account, earning roughly $500 total while his contact urged him to expand target sites to airports in Orlando, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

When federal agents inspected his phone, they discovered images of military aircraft alongside photos of Zeng posing in tactical gear with rifle-style weapons. Charged with making false statements after giving changing stories to federal agents, Zeng remains in custody as a flight risk.

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TOPICS: China; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airports; china; surveillance

[Twotone]

X posts don't have titles, but I thought this was worthy of posting. Having just had the 9/11 anniversary, it kind of makes you wonder what they're planning.

[nwrep]

Nothing violent, just stealing our technology to leapfrog us.

[butlerweave]

See a Chinese and you see a Spy ,LOL

[chajin]

Chinese citizen Weiheng Zeng

"No Weiheng!"
"Weiheng!"

[chajin]

Surveillance cameras at Chicago O’Hare previously caught him climbing forklifts

He tried to climb up on a forklift...