A North Dakota US District Court sentenced Sijie Liu to six years behind bars on June 22, after she attempted to purchase a chemical weapon from an undercover FBI employee on the dark web, according to court documents cited by Canadian outlet CTV News Winnipeg.
According to court documents observed by the outlet, Liu first made contact with the undercover agent some time between February 15, 2019, and March 5, 2019, and ordered 10 milliliters of an undisclosed toxin, a mask, gloves and an apron.
An affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Steven Noldin detailed that although Liu was a resident of Winnipeg, she had the order shipped to an address in Pembina, North Dakota.
Winnipegger trying to buy chemical weapon is caught by undercover FBI agenthttps://t.co/S03uNaPgI8 pic.twitter.com/iUflbhKEge
— CBC Manitoba (@CBCManitoba) June 29, 2020
The 37-year-old crossed the US-Canada border in a white Subaru Forester on March 5, 2019, and told a US Customs and Border Protection officer that she was going to shop in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Court documents noted that Liu then drove to a commercial mail agency in Pembina, where a plainclothes officer observed her obtaining a number of packages under the name “Julie Chen.”
The 37-year-old was then arrested by law enforcement and told officers, "I know what I did was wrong."
According to the Grand Forks Herald, Liu was facing two additional charges as part of a federal indictment. However, the undisclosed charges were dismissed as part of the 37-year-old’s plea agreement.
Liu, who has been behind bars in Cass County Jail in Fargo, North Dakota, since her arrest, will be granted time served and is set to be transferred to a Canadian jail, reported CBC News.
A number of documents associated with the case remain sealed by the North Dakota court.
