By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
A RECENTLY unsealed federal case in the U.S. District Court for Utah details charges against a Chinese national, Ding Wei Chen, who is accused of conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act and smuggle defense articles from the United States.
According to the 19-page criminal complaint, Chen and others allegedly worked from March through Oct. 1, 2025, to purchase and export U.S. defense articles to the People’s Republic of China without the required license or approval from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
The items involved included military‑grade satellite modems manufactured by L3Harris (MPM‑2000 and MPM‑3000), Viasat (CBM‑400), and Comtech (SLM‑5650B). The complaint describes them as U.S. Munitions List items that require State Department authorization before export.
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent John Cooley stated that Chen communicated with an undercover agent about acquiring the equipment, smuggling it to China, and arranging a meeting in Saipan. A DHS database check on Oct. 3, 2025, showed that Chen was traveling to the CNMI.
Chen was charged with conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and smuggling goods from the United States.
He was arrested in the CNMI on Oct. 6, 2025. The case, initially filed in Utah, has since been transferred to the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. As of Tuesday, no additional information appeared in the court docket.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
