Chinese, British Nationals Offered Millions to Buy Controlled Goods for China, US Says

DOJ said Chinese national Cui Guanghai and British national and U.S. resident John Miller conspired from November 2023 to as recently as April 2025 to illegally buy a range of items controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. They told people in the U.S. that the items were destined to a “local government” in China, and that the equipment would be “reverse engineered.” Their client in China was willing to pay “two to three times the cost to acquire such equipment,” the indictment said.

The indictment charges Cui and Miller with trying to illegally export missiles, air defense radar, Black Hornet drones, a “ReAlly Simply Key Loader (RASKL) KIK-30 Type 1 cryptographic device” with an associated “Crypto Ignition Key,” and more. They were both arrested April 24 in Serbia and extradition is pending, according to a May sworn affidavit.

The U.S. will not “allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.”

DOJ said Cui and Miller used encrypted messaging platforms and teleconferencing to try to buy U.S.-origin defense items, transferring money to the U.S. through wire transfers and “hand delivery.” They also had detailed discussions about ways to package and ship the items to China “in a manner that would evade detection by the U.S. government and law enforcement.”

The scheme began toward the end of 2023, when DOJ said Miller asked an unnamed U.S. person about buying a “Christmas wish list” of U.S.-controlled hardware, “radar, technology, and stuff.” Miller said his buyers were “interested in the Western stuff,” according to the indictment, including night vision goggles and armor plates that “go on armored vehicles and tanks that the Yanks have.” The list also included surface-to-air missiles, antiaircraft missiles and Predator drones.

Miller added that the buyers would offer "significant payment” and their “pockets on this are very deep, it’s the holy grail for us if we can facilitate.” He said “we can charge 2-3 times original price.”

While texting on an encrypted messaging platform in March 2024, Miller asked the unnamed U.S. person to turn on the “secret chat” mode, which removes usernames and makes the text disappear almost immediately after being read. Miller then told the person that he was looking to buy Pentagon equipment, including military jet engines. Cui also spoke on the messaging app with the person, outlining his plan to buy the items and “smuggle” them to China, according to the indictment.

Around September 2024, Cui offered to buy a Stinger missile for $50,000, two “black bee” drones for $200,000 “per set,” an “AGM-88E anti-radiation missile” for $900,000, and an “AN-MPQ-64 air defense radar” for $2 million. Cui also said his clients wanted “things like software, Black hornet, or some intelligence information [that] will be easy to handover,” adding that they could “mark up at least 20 to 30% for shipping.”

In February 2025, Cui asked about buying hand-held GPS devices, and in March they discussed buying the RASKL KIK-30 Type 1 and a “crypto ignition key.” Cui said he would give a $30,000 down payment for the RASKL KIK-30 and ignition key by wiring a portion of the money to the U.S. and handing over a portion of the money in cash in Los Angeles.

DOJ said Miller, Cui, the unnamed person and another unnamed person then held calls over the messaging app in April 2025 to “discuss the procurement and smuggling” of the items to China. Cui said on those calls that he had “guys in LA” who could “risk it.”

They also spoke about different ways to ship the RASKL device and key to China, including by putting the device inside a computer or hiding it in a shipment of small electronics or machinery destined to Hong Kong. They also considered shipping it with car parts or gluing it inside a food mixer or blender, which then would be sent by DHL or FedEx to Hong Kong.

During the conversation, they also discussed buying Stinger missiles, but Miller said that would be a “whole different challenge.”

As they continued to talk about the shipments, DOJ said, Miller and Cui were “reminded that the proposed export from the United States was illegal.” At one point, one of the unnamed persons reminded Miller and Cui that “they were not using licenses to ship anything” and they would normally need to have signed end-user agreements, and that they could “get into serious trouble for this.”

Despite the warnings, DOJ said, Cui wired $3,500 from an LA bank account as a deposit for the items. Cui paid the rest of the deposit in cash, the indictment said.

Later in April, Miller, Cui and the unnamed person spoke about possibly shipping the RASKL device and key by hiring people in Hungary that illegally move shipments. Miller said “these guys are running trucks in and out of there all the time, they’ve got a whole European operation” because “it’s free movement in the Schengen zone,” referring to the group of 29 European nations that have eliminated border controls for trade.

DOJ also is charging Cui and Miller with conspiracy to commit interstate stalking after they tried to prevent someone from protesting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appearance at the 2023 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. They hired people to surveil the person, install a tracking device on the person’s car, slash their tires, and more.

Cui and Miller face a maximum of 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act, 10 years for smuggling and five years each for interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking.