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1 of 8 accused of illegal Guam entry via boat pleads not guilty
One of eight people accused of illegally entering Guam on a boat has pleaded not guilty to the allegations against him.
During his arraignment on Monday, Lu Haiyan, one of eight Chinese nationals facing one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, has pleaded not guilty to the charge filed against him before U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona.
Manglona accepted Lu’s plea and set his jury trial for Jan. 10, 2023, at 10am.
The court also scheduled Lu’s detention hearing on Nov. 12, at 2:30pm before remanding him back to the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.
Lu is one of eight defendants in this case. His co-defendants are Li Fu, Li Xiang, Wang Shuyuan, Zeng Guosheng, Shangguan Xunan, Liu Ying, And Wu Xiuying.
Prior to this indictment, the United States indicted five others—Sun Xiaojuan, Zhang Liangxian, Gao Bingxing, Jin Suling, and Zhang Weifu—on the same charges and allegations.
Both groups of Chinese nationals are facing charges of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. They allegedly chipped in to buy a boat that they later used to transport themselves and four others to Guam to avoid immigration.
According to the indictment, on July 2022, the defendants pooled their money to purchase a boat for $20,000 on Saipan. The boat, which is approximately 20 feet long with a fiberglass hull and motorized propeller, with CNMI boat registration number CM 4718 PU, was used by the eight defendants to travel from the CNMI to Guam on or about July 25, 2022.
The defendants allegedly used the boat to get to Guam because they wanted to avoid immigration processes that was anticipated if travel was completed by commercial airplane.
Authorities located the boat in the Hagatna Boat Basin on July 25, 2022.
It was later learned that the defendants do not have valid legal immigration status.
If found guilty, the United States wants the defendants to forfeit the boat.
