Source: Greater Los Angeles (LA)

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Chinese student Shi Fengyun (Fengyun Shi, a phonetic translation) who was previously reported to have used a drone to secretly photograph the U.S. Navy's top-secret aircraft carrier and nuclear submarines at the Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia last January has been deported to China on May 7.

Incident

The drone got stuck in a tree in a resident's backyard

According to ICE's report, on August 11, 2021, Shi Fengyun entered the United States from San Francisco with an F-1 student visa and pursued a master's degree in agricultural engineering at the University of Minnesota.

On January 5, 2024, Shi Fengyun took a flight to Newport News Shipbuilding (Newport News Shipbuilding) in Virginia, 2000 kilometers away, rented a Tesla at the airport, and headed directly there.

On January 6, despite the severe weather, Shi Fengyun still used a drone to fly over Newport News Shipbuilding. At that time, the shipyard was building the U.S.'s next-generation nuclear-powered supercarrier and Virginia-class nuclear submarines.

However, when returning, the drone got stuck in a tree in the backyard of a civilian house near the shipyard. Shi Fengyun sought help from the homeowner, who took photos of Shi Fengyun and his license plate number before calling the police.

Left in the middle of the night

FBI intervened in the investigation

After arriving at the scene, the police questioned Shi Fengyun. Court documents show that Shi Fengyun appeared very nervous when answering the police's questions and could not provide a convincing explanation for why he used a drone under such severe weather conditions.

The police asked Shi Fengyun to stay at the scene and wait for firefighters to arrive before leaving. However, Shi Fengyun left the scene without waiting for the firefighters and immediately returned the car after leaving.

A series of unusual actions immediately heightened the police's suspicion, notifying the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). FBI agents arrived at the scene, took away the drone, and obtained the SD card storing the video. They found that Shi Fengyun had filmed the nuclear submarines and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers under construction and informed the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

On January 8, FBI agents arrested Shi Fengyun in San Francisco. He was charged with illegal operation of a drone system, violation of defense airspace, and photographing defense facilities.

Sentenced to six months in prison

Deported upon completion of sentence

On January 25, the U.S. Department of State revoked Shi Fengyun's student visa.

On February 7, the University of Minnesota expelled Shi Fengyun.

On October 2, the Newport News Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Shi Fengyun to six months in prison plus one year of probation. He was held at the Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood in White Deer, Pennsylvania.

On November 3, the Philadelphia Division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detention order for Shi Fengyun, requiring the prison to transfer him to an immigration detention center after serving his sentence.

On March 7 this year, Shi Fengyun was transferred by ICE agents to the Clinton County Correctional Facility in McElhatten, Pennsylvania. On the same day, ICE filed a lawsuit with the court to deport Shi Fengyun according to Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

On March 24, an immigration judge in Elizabeth, New Jersey, ordered the deportation of Shi Fengyun.

On May 7, Shi Fengyun boarded a flight back to China.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504856149322203663/

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