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The US government is investigating whether the Chinese national was arrested after allegedly flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Base in California. Has he committed any other crimes or not?
last week United States Attorney’s Office The Central District of California announced that 39-year-old Yinbiao Zhou, a legal permanent resident of the United States, has been “charged with failure to register a non-carriage aircraft and violation of national defense airspace.”
But the court complaint states that “The government continues to investigate whether ZHOU is involved in additional, more serious offenses.”
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The Chinese national flag is photographed at the medal ceremony for the women’s 63kg judo competition at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Zhejiang Province, east China, on September 9, September 25, 2023. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)
Although Zhou was not slapped with charges of spying on behalf of China, But in a sworn affidavit justifying the arrest warrant, the FBI agent leading the Zhou investigation described his own experience. “I am familiar with the trade crafts and techniques used by foreigners. hostile countries and their efforts to collect information about elements of their military infrastructure of interest.”
Zhou was arrested on December 9, before boarding a plane to China, according to a press release on the arrest.
“This defendant is accused of using a drone to fly over a military base and photograph the layout of the base. That is against the law,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.
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The seal of the Ministry of Justice was seen on the lectern. Ahead of a press conference announcing efforts to combat computer hacking and extortion at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, Sept. 28, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The disclosure cites an affidavit reporting that a drone was spotted over the location on November 1, 30.
“The drone system detected that the drone had been flying for nearly one hour. Travel to an altitude of nearly 1 mile above ground level. and originates from Ocean Park. It is a public area next to the military base,” the press release said. “The base security guard went to the park, talked to Zhou and another person who was following him. and learned that Zhou had a drone hidden in his jacket. It was the same one that flew over the base.
“Authorities later searched Zhou’s drone pursuant to a federal search warrant. and saw several photos of Vandenberg Space Base taken from an aerial perspective. A search of Zhou’s cell phone shows that Zhou performed a Google search about a month earlier for the phrase “Vandenberg Space Base” Drone Rules’ and messaged another person about hacking his drone to make it fly. higher than can be achieved.”
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Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas talks with Senior Writer at Politico Ankush Khardori during Politico’s annual AI and Technology Conference on September 9, 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Department of Homeland Security SEC Alejandro Mayorkas said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week that some of the sightings were of drones, but others were of “manned aircraft that are often mistaken for drones.” He said, “We know of no connection from abroad” related to “Sightings in the Northeast”
Fox News’ Lee Ross contributed to this report.
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