University Student Accused of Spying for China

An Ontario university student is under suspicion for espionage after the FBI stated he confessed to accessing airport facilities in Toronto and Chicago to take photographs for an unknown individual from China.

Weiheng Zeng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in Michigan on August 23 after crossing the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ontario. He faces one charge of making false statements.

Zeng appeared in a federal court in Detroit on Tuesday and agreed to stay in custody as he waits for his trial.

A University of Waterloo undergraduate born in 2004, Zeng first raised suspicions with U. S. authorities back in April, following an incident recorded on security footage at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by .

Fed Ex security cameras at O’Hare airport captured images of a man taking photos, the FBI said in a criminal complaint. (U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan)

At that time, Fed Ex employees noticed a man taking pictures, climbing onto a forklift and trying to open a locked delivery truck and shipping container in the company’s parking lot at the Chicago airport, as per the criminal complaint.

The complaint states that Zeng admitted he had climbed onto the forklift at O’Hare “to get a better angle to take pictures.”

Investigators later connected Zeng to a dark blue Chrysler Town & Country minivan with Ontario license plates seen on nearby CCTV footage.

When he tried re-entering the U. S. last month while driving that same vehicle, Zeng told U. S. Customs and Border Protection he was going to Chicago for just one day. Instead, border officers interviewed him three times.

According to the criminal complaint, his story changed multiple times.

<p Initially when border agents discovered numerous photos of military aircraft on his phone, Zeng reportedly claimed they were intended for a flight radar website. He said photographing planes was his hobby.

“Zeng’s phone was also found to contain pictures of him and other individuals in tactical clothing and in tactical formations, holding rifle-styled firearms,” FBI special agent Robert Holbrook wrote in the complaint. Zeng supposedly stated that the weapon was an airsoft gun.

He denied having any military service or training.

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Zeng acknowledged he had climbed a forklift in a Fed Ex parking lot at O’Hare airport “to get a better angle to take pictures.” (U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan)

The criminal complaint reveals that Zeng eventually claimed someone-only referred to as “Chinese contact”-was paying him to photograph specific planes along with their tail numbers.

Zeng believed this contact worked for some kind of Chinese security service and thought it was “cool,” based on documents filed in U. S. District Court in Detroit. He mentioned they had met on an aviation forum from China back in 2024.

Chinese SIM cards, Huawei phone

Z eng , who lives i n Cambridge , Ont., also described t o investigators an intricate system h e allegedly used t o communicate w ith this unnamed individual , who paid him via bank transfer i n Chinese yuan.

The “Chinese contact” would mail new SIM cards t o Z eng every four t o five months , which h e w as instructed t o use i n his Huawei cell phone , according t o th e criminal complaint.

“Z eng , at th e direction o f ‘Chinese Contact,’ would subsequently destroy th e SIM cards , delete th e conversations , and delete th e photos h e took,” wrote Holbrook , th e FBI agent.A Chrysler Town & Country minivan with Ontario licence plates was seen in a Fed Ex parking lot at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on April 21, according to an FBI criminal complaint. Zeng purportedly tried to re-enter the U. S. in August in the same vehicle. (U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan)

“The SIM card , which w as from China Telecom , allowed Z eng t o bypass Canadian cellular network s and connect directly w ith th e Chinese provider network t o send text messages t o ‘Chinese Contact.’ “

In another interview last month w ith th e FBI , Z eng supposedly said h is contact directed him i n October 2025 t o take photos inside a Fed Ex facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

He claimed h e encountered problems w ith a Fed Ex employee but managed only t o photograph outside th e building. Still , he sent those photos t o h is contact and received about $200 US i n return.

Z eng considered high flight risk by prosecutor

During his initial court appearance i n Detroit last week , federal prosecutors argued h e posed significant flight risk and requested detention until trial.

“H e is a foreign resident and foreign citizen,” assistant U. S attorney Alyse Wu stated during proceedings.

“Based on what is alleged i n th e complaint, the only known tie t o this district appears t o be using it as passageway into our country for what seems like espionage-related activities.”<Параграфа во вторник другой защитник назначен судом заявил что Зэн согласился оставаться под стражей.Говоря через переводчика на мандаринском языке Зэн подтвердил свое имя и понимание того факта что он останется за решеткой.

WATCH | ZENG WAS ARRESTED AFTER HIS STORY KEPT CHANGING COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW:<img src="https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1788521060_972_default. jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" loading="lazy"/

STUDENT СА РУКОВОДСТВА ОТ НОСА ИЗ КАНАДЫ В США ДЛЯ КИТАЯ Университетский студент в водопаде подозревается в шпионаже после того как ФБР сообщило что он признал свою причастность к доступу к аэропортам США и Канады для фотографирования самолетов по указанию таинственного китайского курьера.Обвинения против него не были подтверждены в суде.Неясно какой именно курс был у Зэна или когда он впервые приехал в Канаду.Представитель Университета Уотерлоо Памела Смит сообщила изданию «Онтарио Хроникл» по электронной почте: «Мы обычно не комментируем текущие уголовные дела».Полиция Ватерлоо заявила что не участвует в расследовании.Представитель посольства Китая в Оттаве сказал что «категорически выступает против раздувания так называемой угрозы шпионажа со стороны Китая и безосновательных спекуляций и клеветы против Китая».Если у вас есть новостной совет связанный с этой историей свяжитесь с старшим репортером «Онтарио Хроникл» Томасом Дэйглом по электронной почте: Thomas. Daigle@cbc. ca.

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