FedEx pilot suspected of smuggling weapons into China

BEIJING: A FedEx pilot who was arrested in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is suspected of smuggling weapons and ammunition, Beijing said, accusing the man of carrying hundreds of airgun pellets.

The American pilot had 681 pellets with him when he was searched at the airport on Sept 12 ahead of a flight to Hong Kong, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a press briefing yesterday, adding that the man was released on bail pending trial.

Hong Kong has been plunged into months of pro-democracy protests and unrest, and Beijing has repeatedly accused foreign governments of helping to support the protesters.

Geng said the man served as a deputy pilot for a FedEx cargo plane on Sept 11 and entered Guangzhou the next day.

“Guangzhou Baiyun Airport customs found a suspicious box with 681 airgun pellets in the luggage of an American outbound passenger,” Geng said.

A FedEx spokesman said Chinese authorities in Guangzhou detained and later released one of their pilots on bail, and also confirmed media reports naming the pilot as Todd Hohn, a former US Air Force pilot.

The case was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, who said Hohn had more than two decades of military experience, including some time at the Pentagon.

FedEx is facing multiple investigations in China over delivery irregularities related to technology giant Huawei.

A Chinese government probe launched in June accused FedEx of holding up more than 100 packages from Huawei, which is facing moves by the United States to blacklist it.

The row also comes as Beijing and Washington face off in a trade war in which both sides have exchanged steep tariffs on hundreds of billions of exports.