Pinoy to plead guilty to selling US spy plane on eBay
A Filipino is expected to plead guilty for trying to sell a US government-owned military spy plane over the Internet, news site Tampa Bay Online reported Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). The report said Henson Chua had illegally imported into the US a three-foot-long, hand-launched, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) RQ-11A/B âRaven" drone, after putting in on auction on eBay. Chua was arrested last February by US authorities for violating the countryâs arms export and smuggling laws because the Raven is on the US munitions list of defensive items. According to the report, undercover agents contacted Chua who said he was representing the Ravenâs owner who, in turn, had supposedly purchased it as âabandoned property" from a Philippine government auction. The special operations command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida had seen the spy plane listed for sale for $13,000 on eBay. They verified it as one of the commandâs properties.