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LA OPINION
Some of the weapons seized at the Santa Fe Springs, Calif. home of suspect Wei Xu. |
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in California is in jail because of his long "highly suspicious" contacts with Chinese consular officials in Los Angeles.
Wei Xu, 56, a U.S. citizen from Santa Fe Springs, is a CBP officer at the Los Angeles and Long Beach Seaport. He is also accused of illegally selling firearms. When his home was raided in February, authorities seized over $200,000 worth of firearms including numerous assault rifles, two additional short-barreled rifles, and what appear to be machine guns.
A recently unsealed criminal complaint alleges that Xu sold or otherwise transferred at least 70 firearms through a federal firearms license (FFL) dealer since 2014. As detailed in the complaint affidavit, Xu allegedly exploited his status as a law enforcement officer to purchase and then transfer at least 14 “off-roster” handguns that cannot be sold to the general public by an FFL. Xu also sold or transferred firearms within days or weeks from the date he purchased them. Xu allegedly operated his business by posting advertisements on internet marketplaces.
The complaint against him accuses him of buying guns—including ones that only law enforcement agents can legally buy under California law—and then re-selling them in private deals to buyers he found on a website called Calguns. Prosecutors say that Xu sold four guns to an undercover agent, conducting the deals in a parking lot, and offered the agent a long list of additional guns he had for sale. He’s accused of selling three of the guns illegally straight from the trunk of his car, without involving a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Prosecutors are also examining the apparent gulf between Xu's estimated $120,000-to-$130,000 salary as a federal law enforcement officer and his "luxurious lifestyle," in which he drove a Maserati, went on big game hunting trips to Africa and had approximately $1.4 million in the bank, according to court records.
Xu has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. He faces trial in September. If convicted as charged, he would face up to 35 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Born in China, Xu came to the United States on a student visa in the late 1980s. He became a naturalized citizen in 1999. In 2004, following stints in the private sector as an engineer and entrepreneur, he was hired by Customs and Border Protection -- a job requiring a secret-level security clearance subject to periodic renewals.
Prior to his arrest in February, Xu worked as a watch commander for CBP at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Jaime Ruiz, a spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection, said Xu is now on "indefinite suspension."
According to prosecutors, Xu repeatedly made false statements and concealed information when he filled out questionnaires for his security clearance under penalty of perjury.
Among other things, prosecutors said, Xu failed to disclose his ownership of t
wo companies that do business with China and his "extensive business contacts with Chinese nationals."
Agents say they found evidence of a bank account in China in the trash outside Xu's home and recovered two copies of Chinese passports, bearing the name Wei Xu but featuring photos of other people, from Xu's desk.
Salick argued at one of Xu's detention hearings that she'd been told by CBP officers that if Xu falsely claimed to have lost his own passport, he could pretend to be one of the Chinese citizens bearing his name, provide that man's biographical information to the Chinese consulate, and would likely be issued travel documents to return to China.
Following Xu's arrest, investigators learned of his "long-standing contact with members of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles," according to court records.
Agents seized emails, texts and phone records showing that Xu had been communicating with consular officials since at least 2013, according to court records. He was invited to events hosted by the consulate in 2017 and 2018, the records state, and agents reviewed images on his cell phone "appearing to show" that Xu and his wife attended the events.
Xu's attorney, Mark Werksman, described his client as a "nerdy engineer" who collected firearms as a hobby and had no intention of becoming a gun dealer.
"He comes home from work, goes out to the garage and tinkers with guns," the lawyer said. "He wasn't going to hurt anyone."
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