Bail Set for Cypress Smuggling Suspect

A federal magistrate set bail Tuesday at $100,000 for a Cypress man accused of trying to smuggle restricted military equipment into China, despite the objections of authorities who contend he is a flight risk.

But U.S. Magistrate-Judge George Swartz stayed bail for Jeffrey Jhyfang Lo, 52, for three days to allow prosecutors to appeal his decision.

After his bail hearing in federal court in Los Angeles, Lo was sent back to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center. He has been held there since his arrest Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport as he was about to board a flight to China.

Assistant U.S. Atty. David Vaughn told the magistrate Lo was a flight risk with extensive ties to his native China and Taiwan, including a business office in China. Vaughn also alleged that Lo had been trying to obtain other U.S. military technology on behalf of the Chinese government.

When Lo was arrested, his checked baggage contained what authorities said was a sophisticated infrared thermal imaging camera and two lenses used in missile guidance and reconnaissance systems.

Authorities allege, based on a seven-month investigation, that Lo was working at the direction of a Chinese corporation linked to the People’s Liberation Army.

Lo, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act. It is legal to buy the confiscated equipment in the United States, but its export is restricted.

Authorities say Lo bought the gear for $142,000 from an FBI agent who was working undercover at a Santa Barbara defense firm. They allege he planned eventually to take as many as 38 more of the cameras out of the country.

But Lo’s wife, Betty Yen, told The Times that her husband called her from the federal lock-up after his arrest to say he’d made an innocent mistake.

If Lo is released, he will have to surrender his passport, be subject to electronic monitoring at home and remain in Southern California.

One law enforcement source said the investigation is still at an early stage, and investigators are not sure if Lo was working alone or with accomplices.

“One question that remains unanswered is who provided him with the $142,000 he used to purchase the camera and equipment,” the source said.

Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this report.