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2 US Navy sailors arrested on charges tied to national security and China

Author: CBS 8 Staff
Published: 10:39 AM PDT August 3, 2023
Updated: 2:50 PM PDT August 3, 2023
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SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to a ship in San Diego is in federal custody Thursday.

Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested Wednesday on espionage charges when he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego.

He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People’s Republic of China.

The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems.

According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.

“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”

A Navy sailor from Monterey Park was also in federal custody Thursday for allegedly receiving bribes in exchange for sending sensitive military information, including plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region and diagrams and blueprints for a radar system, to a Chinese intelligence officer.

Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas Zhao, was arrested Wednesday and is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Zhao was working at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

It remained unclear Thursday if the cases were related and officials declined to comment on whether both sailors were communicating with the same intelligence officer.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/us-attorney-for-southern-california-announcement-on-national-security-matter/509-4c218a48-4a8f-4087-a408-3ed78075845e

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