Highest bidderFilipino man guilty of selling UAV on eBay
Last week a Filipino man pleaded guilty to violating arms export and smuggling laws by selling parts from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on eBay; in February, DHS officials arrested Henson Chua of Manila, Philippines after he shipped undercover agents a three-foot long, hand-launched, computer-controlled RQ-11A/B Raven surveillance drone
Launching the Raven UAV // Source: aerotechnews.com
Last week a Filipino man pleaded guilty to violating arms export and smuggling laws by selling parts from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on eBay.
In February, DHS officials arrested Henson Chua of Manila, Philippines after he shipped undercover agents a three-foot long, hand-launched, computer-controlled RQ-11A/B Raven surveillance drone.
Chua could face as much as twenty years in prison, but is likely to face less as he has agreed to work with federal investigators in a plea bargain. Chua will cooperate with investigators and even go so far as to testify against family members at times.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents first noticed Chua in May 2010 after the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida saw the drone for sale on eBay for $13,000.
SOCOM investigators discovered that the UAV actually belonged to them after reading one of the bar codes that was visible on one of the photographs posted on the site.
According to his arrest affidavit, Chua said he was representing the drone’s owner who had purchased it at a government auction in the Philippines as abandoned property.
Undercover agents contacted Chua posing as intermediaries for a Russian buyer. During negotiations for the drone, eBay removed the item as it violated the auction site’s policies which prohibit the sale of military goods.
Investigators continued to press ahead with deal communicating by phone and email. In particular agents discussed the difficulties of obtaining the proper paper work. The sale was finalized last August, despite lacking proper permits.
Agents sent Chua the money through PayPal and he then shipped the drone in two parts – first the fuselage and then the nose cone.
Chua’s attorney, William Jung, said that the sale was not for the whole drone.
“It wasn’t the entire thing,” Jung said. “It didn’t have wings. It was basically parts.”
For unspecified reasons, Chua came to the United States in February where he was arrested.
Chua has already returned the $13,000 that he received from the U.S. government in the undercover sting operation.
