CHINA CONSPIRACY DENIED 4 RESIDENTS OF L.A. AREA PLEAD NOT GUILTY.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Four people, including an Encino man and two Thousand Oaks residents, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that they attempted to ship missile and fighter-jet parts to China through their Los Angeles-area businesses.

The suspects are Ahmad ``Alex'' Nahardani of Encino and Gabriela De Brea of Alta Loma, owners of Mexpar International and Pasadena Aerospace of Azusa, and Jinghua ``Jackey'' Zhuang and Xiuwen ``Jennifer'' Liang, who own Maytone International of Thousand Oaks.

Each is charged with aiding and abetting, conspiracy and unlawfully trying to export defense articles. The penalty for conviction would be up to 10 years in prison on each count. The charges cap a five-year federal investigation led by the U.S. Customs Service, whose officers intercepted the arms components before they could be shipped overseas.

``This investigation started five years ago to address the problem of unscrupulous arms dealers,'' said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

``That problem is obviously all the more serious after 9-11. We can't have people illegally shipping arms anywhere, because you don't know whose arms they'll eventually end up in.''

Greg Bright, a Los Angeles-based attorney representing Nahardani, said his client is innocent.

``We're just learning the facts,'' Bright said. ``Although there has been an investigation, we have yet to see investigative documents that the government has concerning the matter.

``I'm confident that my client will be vindicated at trial.''

Added Carlton F. Gunn, a public defender who represents De Brea and Zhuang: ``I look forward to presenting their side of things in court.''

Judy Rochlin, the public defender appointed to handle Liang's case, could not be reached for comment.

Nahardani, 55, and De Brea, 62, established Mexpar International and Pasadena Aerospace in 1987, according to prosecutors, and had billed themselves as experts in exports while providing customers with lists of missile and aircraft parts.

The two face up to 80 years in federal prison if convicted of trying to sell parts for the F-4 Phantom fighter jet and anti-aircraft Hawk and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to the Peoples Republic of China.

Their trial is set for April 22.

Zhuang, 33, and Liang, 32, ran Maytone out of their Thousand Oaks home and are accused of trying to illegally export Hawk, AIM-9, anti-tank TOW missiles and F-14 Tomcat jet fighter parts to Shenyang, China.

Prosecutors say that, in shipping documents for six months leading up to December 1999, Zhuang falsely stated contents of packages that contained the intercepted military parts.

If convicted, Zhuang and Lang face up to 40 years in prison. Their trial also is set for April 22.

The undercover operation was conducted by Customs agents aided by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.