ROLL ‘EM UP: Feds charge 8 in alleged secret Chinese repatriation squad hunting fugitives in U.S.
Federal authorities unveiled criminal charges Wednesday against eight people who allegedly served as part of a covert Chinese repatriation squad that sought to forcibly return fugitives to the Beijing government.
The suspects, whose mission was allegedly sanctioned by the Peoples Republic of China, worked for more than three years as part of a campaign known as “Operation Fox Hunt” to coerce Chinese nationals living in the United States to return to China where they were wanted for various government offenses, said John Demers, chief of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Five of the suspects, including a New Jersey private investigator who allegedly assisted with surveillance, were arrested earlier Wednesday and charged as illegal agents of the PRC. The three others are believed to be living in China.
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