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· collected 2026-09-04 · by TOI World Desk
A Chinese student studying at the University of Waterloo in Canada has been arrested by US authorities for allegedly taking photographs at airports and freight facilities on behalf of a person connected to the Chinese government. Weiheng Zeng, an undergraduate student, was charged with making false statements to federal authorities after being questioned by FBI agents about his activities. Investigators found photographs of aircraft, including military planes, on Zeng's phone, as well as pictures of him and others wearing tactical clothing and holding rifle-style firearms. The case began in April when a man taking suspicious photos at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was linked to a dark blue minivan with Ontario licence plates, which Zeng had used to enter the US.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.85, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 3978: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-04
A Chinese student studying at a Canadian university has been arrested in the United States after US authorities accused him of taking photographs at airports and freight facilities at the request of a person he allegedly believed was connected to the Chinese government.
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he → study → government
Weiheng Zeng, an undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, was arrested in Michigan on August 23 after crossing the Ambassador Bridge between Canada and the US.
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Zeng → arrest → Canada
Zeng has been charged with making false statements to federal authorities.
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Zeng → charge → authorities
He has not been charged with espionage, and the allegations contained in an FBI affidavit have not been tested in court.
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allegations → charge → court
The case began with an incident at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in April.
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case → begin → April
According to an affidavit filed in a Michigan court, a man was seen taking photographs at a FedEx cargo facility on April 21.
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man → accord → April
The man allegedly climbed onto a forklift and attempted to open locked trailers.
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man → climb → trailers
Investigators later linked the incident to a dark blue minivan with Ontario licence plates.
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Investigators → link → plates
About four months later, on August 23, Zeng attempted to enter the US again in the same vehicle.
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Zeng → attempt → vehicle
He was pulled aside by border officers and questioned before FBI agents became involved.
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agents → pull → officers
What followed were three interviews in which, according to the affidavit, Zeng gave investigators increasingly detailed and conflicting accounts of what he had been doing.
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he → follow → what
Initially, Zeng said he had travelled to Chicago to photograph aircraft.
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he → say → aircraft
He had told US customs officers that he was visiting his sister.
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he → tell → sister
Severeal photos of aircraft, military planes on phone
Agents searching his phone allegedly found photographs of aircraft, including military planes.
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Agents → search → planes
They also found photographs of Zeng and other people wearing tactical clothing and holding rifle-style firearms.
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They → find → firearms
Zeng told investigators the weapons were airsoft guns and said he had been photographing aircraft models for a flight-tracking website.
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he → tell → website
He also denied having military training.
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He → deny → training
During a later interview, he reportedly said he had photographed planes landing at O'Hare from a public parking lot.
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he → say → lot
He subsequently acknowledged going to the FedEx facility and climbing onto a forklift to take photographs.
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He → acknowledge → photographs
The affidavit also alleged that Zeng had previously trespassed at a FedEx facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada, where he was caught.
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he → allege → Canada
But investigators say the most significant details emerged during a third interview.
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details → say → interview
Chinese contact approached through a website for aviation enthusiasts
Zeng allegedly told them that a Chinese contact had approached him through a website used by aviation enthusiasts and asked him to photograph specific aircraft.
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contact → approach → aircraft
The contact supplied aircraft tail numbers and allegedly paid him between $20 and $30 for each photograph.
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contact → supply → photograph
According to the affidavit, the contact also sent Zeng SIM cards to use for communications.
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contact → accord → communications
Zeng said he would destroy the cards and delete conversations and photographs after completing assignments.
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he → say → assignments
He told investigators that he had accepted assignments at O'Hare and Pearson, but rejected requests to photograph locations in Orlando and Las Vegas.
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he → tell → Orlando
The Chinese contact initially presented the assignments as aviation “research”, with Zeng allegedly told to photograph rare aircraft.
But investigators say Zeng eventually acknowledged that the aircraft explanation was a cover.
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explanation → present → aircraft
Zeng also allegedly told the FBI that the contact had sent him a photograph of a badge and videos showing scenes that appeared accessible only to security officials.
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that → tell → officials
According to the affidavit, Zeng had been communicating with the contact for about three months beginning in late 2024.
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Zeng → accord → 2024
He said the person eventually asked him for “help”, and he agreed because he thought it was “cool.”
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it → say → help
The alleged payments were made through transfers to a Bank of China account, the affidavit says.
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affidavit → allege → account
Investigators also discovered that the online forum where Zeng said he had met the contact apparently did not exist.
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he → discover → contact
Zeng's sister denied the allegations that her brother is knowingly involved in espionage for Beijing.
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brother → deny → Beijing
"If my brother is a Chinese spy, then I'm Trump's father," Meixuan Wang wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.
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Wang → write → Wednesday
Wang told the Globe and Mail that her brother is just obsessed with airplanes and has autism spectrum disorder.
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brother → tell → disorder
