Two Deny Plot to Sneak Missiles Into the U.S.

Two men pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court in Los Angeles to charges of conspiring to smuggle shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles into the United States for use abroad.

Chao Tung Wu, 51, and Yi Qing Chen, 41, are naturalized citizens born in China, authorities said. The men are accused of agreeing to arrange shipment of the missiles from a country not named in the indictment.

Authorities have said the men were told by an undercover agent that the missiles would be sent abroad.

Terrence Roden, Chen’s lawyer, said outside court that the case was “seriously overcharged” and that no weapons were exchanged.

Wu’s lawyer, Gerson Horn, questioned the government’s case, which he says alleges a conspiracy “conceived, nurtured and orchestrated by the undercover agent.”

The U.S. attorney’s office has said the charges against Wu, of La Puente, and Chen, of Rosemead, mark the first time a 2004 anti-terrorism law has been used. The law calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years if convicted.

The men have been in custody since August and were originally charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and Ecstasy and importing millions of counterfeit cigarettes. They were previously ordered held without bond.