Source: FEDagent

FEDagent reports that federal law enforcement agencies have successfully shut down a sophisticated smuggling network responsible for illegally exporting $160 million worth of advanced artificial intelligence technology to China. In an operation dubbed "Operation Gatekeeper," announced on December 11, 2025, authorities revealed that the ring was centered around a Houston-based company and operated between October 2024 and May 2025. The smugglers utilized falsified shipping documents, shell companies, and fake labels (such as "SANDKYAN") to bypass strict U.S. export controls on Nvidia H100 and H200 chips, which are critical for military and high-level AI applications .

Prosecutors allege that the scheme involved funneling the prohibited technology through intermediary countries to reach restricted destinations in China and Hong Kong. Key figures in the network, including Alan Hao Hsu of Hao Global LLC, have pleaded guilty, while arrests were recently made of a New York tech company owner and a Canadian executive. Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI traced over $50 million in funding back to Chinese sources. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei highlighted the national security implications, stating that the network threatened American interests by providing adversaries with the building blocks of AI superiority.