U.S. authorities have charged two Chinese nationals with acting on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) to recruit American military personnel, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. The individuals allegedly facilitated covert intelligence-gathering operations on U.S. soil, including delivering a $10,000 “dead-drop” payment in Northern California.
The two suspects, Yuance Chen, 38, a permanent U.S. resident living in Oregon, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, a Chinese citizen visiting Houston on a tourist visa, were arrested last Friday and appeared in federal courts in Portland and Houston on Monday.
According to the DOJ, both men worked to identify potential recruits within the U.S. Navy and coordinated clandestine exchanges for sensitive national security information. The dead-drop method, commonly used in espionage, involved leaving cash in a locker at a recreational facility.
“The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme,” said FBI Director Kash Patel, referencing the use of spy craft on U.S. territory. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has not yet commented on the arrests.