2 Chinese Military-Linked Researchers Arrested After Trying to Fly to China, DOJ Says

A student walks toward Royce Hall on the campus of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 11, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Two Chinese researchers with alleged ties to the Chinese military have been arrested on federal charges while attempting to board China-bound flights, according to separate criminal complaints unsealed on Aug. 28.

One of the arrested was Guan Lei, a 29-year-old researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who was charged with destroying evidence to obstruct an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into whether he had transferred sensitive U.S. software or data to China, the Justice Department said.