Florida Grand Jury Indicts Man for Allegedly Peddling Monrovia-Made Spy Drone on EBay

A man was indicted by a Florida grand jury this week for allegedly trying to sell a Monrovia-made spy drone for $13,000 to undercover federal investigators on eBay.

Henson Chua, 47, of the Philippines, is accused by the U.S. Attorney's Office of attempting to sell a built by , the technology company headquartered on Huntington Drive. Chua is charged with smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act and faces 20 years in prison if convicted, according to authorities.

"Chua initially listed the item for sale on eBay and then engaged in communications with undercover agents ... which culminated in the recovery," a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office states.

Chua is accused of smuggling the Raven drone into the U.S. from the Philippines. He was arrested in Los Angeles in February, according to federal investigators.

The Raven drone is designated as a "defense article on the United States Munitions List," according to the indictment. Importing or exporting the drone without a license from the U.S. Department of State is a federal offense, the indictment states.

Federal investigators became aware of Chua's attempted sale of the Raven when he posted it for sale on eBay with a listed price of $13,000 in May of last year, according to the criminal complaint against Chua. Serial numbers visible in photos Chua posted confirmed that the Raven was the property of the U.S. government, the complaint states.

Investigators began to communicate with Chua last May through eBay's e-mail system, according to court records. EBay removed Chua's Raven posting from its site, but investigators continued to correspond with him. Chua eventually shipped the Raven in parts to investigators, court records show.

The Raven is an unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras that is designed to be carried in a backpack by soldiers, who can launch it manually. The camera-equipped Raven then sends real-time video footage back to a handheld remote.

Aerovironment has sold more than 10,000 of its Raven aircraft to the U.S. military and countries around the world, according to Steven Gitlin, the company's director of marketing strategy.