Chinese spy pleads guilty to running secret police base in Manhattan on behalf of CCP

60-year-old Chen Jinping pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges related to conspiring to act as an agent for the Chinese government in his efforts to run an unofficial police station for the country. Chen now faces five years in prison because of his guilty plea, per a press release from the Department of Justice.

Prosecuting US Attorney Breon Peace told reporters that Chen played a part in a "transnational repression scheme to establish a secret police station in the middle of New York City on behalf of the national police force of the People’s Republic of China." According to CNN, Chen is a naturalized citizen of the US.

Peace stated, “Today, a participant in a transnational repression scheme who worked to establish a secret police station in the middle of New York City on behalf of the national police force of the People’s Republic of China has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an illegal agent. We will continue our efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable persons who come to this country to escape the repressive activities of authoritarian regimes."

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy commented, “Today, Chen Jinping admitted to his role in audaciously establishing an undeclared police station in the heart of New York City and attempting to conceal the effort when approached by FBI New York."

Chen as well as co-defendant Lu Jianwang, 62, both of whom are citizens of the US, were arrested and charged in April 2023 with acting as foreign agents, the Guardian reported. Lu is still awaiting trial. The police Chinese police station "occupied an entire floor in an office building in Manhattan’s Chinatown," the DOJ stated. "Chen and Lu helped open and operate the clandestine police station. None of the participants in the scheme informed the US government that they were helping the PRC government open and operate an undeclared MPS [Chinese Ministry of Public Service] police station on US soil," the press release added.

The station was shut down in October 2022 when the FBI conducted an authorized search of the station and seized the defendants' electronic devices where they found that Lu and Chen had been communicating with China's Ministry of Public Security.