Chinese National Arrested in Texas for Spying in the U.S.

(Houston, Texas) There is so much going on across Texas it’s difficult to keep up with everything. But if criminals think they can get away with things because Texas is so gigantic, they are wrong. We have law enforcement working all the time. In fact, recently there was a Chinese national arrested in Houston for alleged spy operations in the United States.

Details on the Alleged Spy Arrested in Houston

According to KHOU, Liren “Ryan” Lai traveled to Houston on a tourist visa in April, there is another suspect (Yuance Chen) a legal resident of the U.S. who was living in Happy Valley, Oregon who was arrested on the same day for the same charges.

What are the Exact Crimes These Chinese Nationals are Charged With?

According to the criminal complaint, the suspects are charged with overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence taskings in the United States on behalf of the People’s Republic of China government’s principal foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security.

Also, providing national security information about U.S. Naval bases and servicemembers. And lastly, recruiting others from within the U.S. military as potential MSS assets.

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This Was a Great Investigation Led by the FBI

This investigation and operation was a combined effort by the FBI in Houston, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, and the Counterintelligence Division.

The feds say that the MSS had spent years recruiting and working to obtain information on political, economic and security policies that might affect the People’s Republic of China.

If convicted of the crimes, the two individuals arrested would face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.