NYPD officer arrested and charged as an 'illegal agent' of China

Baimadajie Angwang is an NYPD community affairs in the 111 precinct in Queens and a US Army Reservist at Fort Dix in New Jersey

NYPD officer arrested and charged as an 'illegal agent' of China ( )

A New York City police officer and Army reservist has been arrested and charged as an alleged illegal agent of China who has been spying on ethnic Tibetans living in the United States.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was born in the autonomous region of Tibet in China and maintained a relationship with officials at the New York Chinese consulate as far back as 2014, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr Angwang is an NYPD community affairs in the 111 precinct in Queens and a US Army Reservist at Fort Dix in New Jersey. 

The complaint alleges that Mr Angwang acted "at the direction and control" of Chinese government officials to report on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, spot and assess potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources and use his official position to give consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials.

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement Mr Angwang “violated every oath he took in this country”.

“One to the United States, another to the US Army, and a third to this police department,” Mr Shea said.

“From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPD’s Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice.”

According to court filings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleges the Mr Angwang has maintained relationships with a “handler” he referred to as “boss” within a consulate department responsible for neutralizing and maintaining control over problematic groups like religious and ethnic minorities.

Mr Angwang called or texted the consulate more than 100 times, with transcripts showing he offered handlers attend Tibetan events in Queens and NYPD events “to raise our country’s soft power”.

"Angwang also discussed the utility of developing sources for the PRC government in the local Tibetan community and suggested that the primary qualification for a source as follows: 'If you're willing to recognize the motherland, the motherland is willing to assist you with its resources,'" the complaint said.

In 2016, Mr Angwang wired $150,000 to accounts in China belonging to his brother and another contact, according to the complaint.

He is facing charges of wire fraud, making false statements, obstruction of an official proceeding, and acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the attorney general.