Woman accused of spying for China arrested at LAX, federal prosecutors say
Woman accused of spying for China
Federal prosecutors say Wanying "Heather" Zhang was arrested at LAX on suspicion of conducting espionage for China. Prosecutors allege Zhang surveilled the son of Taiwan’s president in Seattle last year.
LOS ANGELES - A woman accused of working as an agent for China and conducting espionage targeting the son of Taiwan’s president was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, federal prosecutors said.
What we know:
The FBI arrested 34-year-old Wanying "Heather" Zhang, an Irvine real estate agent, Sunday as she was preparing to board a flight to China, according to federal prosecutors.
FOX 11 obtained video through federal sources showing Zhang being taken into custody at LAX.
What they're saying:
"She was basically conducting espionage activities on an official who is related to the president of Taiwan," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.
Federal prosecutors allege Zhang surveilled the son of Taiwan’s president in Seattle last year.
Essayli said the case is part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to gather intelligence and influence political figures in the United States.
"The government of China is using her to conduct espionage against its political opponents," Essayli said. "They also have an influence campaign where they go and try to groom politicians, congressmembers, city council members, doesn’t really matter. They’ll try to get as much influence as they can."
The arrest comes as several other cases involving alleged Chinese activity have unfolded in Southern California.
Earlier this year, FOX 11 questioned the former mayor of Arcadia, who has since pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for China.
Last week, a San Gabriel man was arrested and accused of helping smuggle more than $300 million worth of artificial intelligence chips to China.
Two other Chinese nationals were also recently arrested at John Wayne Airport and accused of using stolen U.S. passports.
The cases are separate, and there is no indication they are connected to Zhang’s arrest.
Essayli said airports have become an important location for federal enforcement because of the presence of agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
"The federal government has a large footprint at the airports, with TSA, ICE, and CBP," Essayli said. "So it makes sense that we would conduct immigration enforcements at the airports."
FOX 11 also obtained video recorded early Saturday morning showing a different Chinese national being taken into ICE custody at LAX.
Chris Tucker, who recorded the video, said he did not know why the woman was detained.
"Kidnapping them off of the streets when they arrive into their second home is not the proper way to go about things," Tucker said.
Tucker questioned whether the woman could have been detained for a national security-related reason but said he remains skeptical of federal explanations for some immigration arrests.
"I find it hard to believe anything," Tucker said. "It usually ends up where there’s investigations, and what these people have said for the reason of detaining them ends up being false."
Essayli pushed back against the idea that airports should be considered an immigration-enforcement-free zone.
"I’m not sure when it was decided airports were an immigration enforcement free zone," Essayli said. "If you’re in the United States illegally, you’ve got to be pretty bold to go through security and fly in U.S. airplanes."
FBI Director Kash Patel also addressed Zhang’s arrest in a post on X.
"Foreign adversaries take note: America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations," Patel wrote.
Patel said the FBI is "hunting threats to our national security wherever they hide" and bringing them to justice.