Agents Arrest 2 Men Over Stolen Computer Chips : Crime: They are charged with receiving and conspiring to obtain the devices. They face up to $10,000 and 10 years in prison for each count.

Two men, one a North Hollywood businessman, have been arrested by federal agents for receiving stolen computer chips and conspiring to obtain additional chips, authorities said Monday.

Peter Luk, 36, of Northridge and Chung Lim, 30, of Monterey Park were charged with two counts each of receiving and conspiring to receive stolen computer chips.

Luk, president of Pro Components in North Hollywood, was arrested at his store, and Lim was arrested without incident at his home, authorities said.

The arrests Thursday were part of a nationwide investigation into a July, 1991, robbery at Jabil Circuit Company in St. Petersburg, Fla., said Charlie Parsons, who heads the Los Angeles FBI office.

In that robbery, seven Vietnamese men stormed the facility, blindfolded and held at gunpoint 10 employees for four hours before making off with more than $1 million worth of Intel 385, 386 and 486 computer chips, Parsons said. The popular Intel chips, which serve as the “brain” of personal computer systems, were the most advanced chips available in retail markets.

All seven suspects have since been named in a federal indictment in Tampa, Fla., on charges of interstate transportation of stolen property, he said.

Federal authorities identified the men as two of numerous buyers across the country who purchased a portion of the proceeds of the robbery, Parsons said.

On the day he was arrested, Lim met with undercover federal agents and offered $102,000 for the purchase of 33 computer chips, Parsons said.

Both men appeared before a U. S. magistrate on Friday. If convicted, they face up to $10,000 and 10 years in federal prison for each count, authorities said.