A man who allegedly planted a bomb that went undiscovered for a week in the visitors center of the Florida headquarters of US Central Command, which oversees the ongoing war in Iran, remained at large on Friday after fleeing to China.
Authorities charged Alen Zheng and his sister Ann Mary Zheng, both US citizens in separate indictments this week for their alleged role in planting the explosive device at MacDill air force base. Ann Mary Zheng was arrested in the US after a short trip to China, and was arraigned on Thursday in a federal court in Florida.
Alen Zheng is suspected of placing an explosive device at the visitors center of the MacDill air force base on 10 March, then calling 911 to alert officials.
Investigators at the base said they searched for the device but did not find it for nearly a week.
In the meantime, the Zhengs sold a car used to plant the bomb, and fled to China, arriving on 12 March.
It was not until 16 March, four days later, that investigators finally found the undetonated device, tracked the 911 call to Zheng and discovered the vehicle at a used car dealership. Though it had already been vacuumed and cleaned, they found residue matching the explosive, the US attorney for the middle district of Florida said.
The FBI is investigating the case. Although the US has no official extradition treaty with China, both countries can negotiate on specific cases. It is unclear if the two siblings also have Chinese citizenship.
Alen Zheng has been indicted for three separate counts for attempted damage on government property by fire or explosion, the unlawful manufacturing of a destructive device and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to court records, while his sister has been charged with helping her brother evade arrest by helping him travel to China and selling the car he allegedly used to place the bomb.
