Winnipeg woman sentenced in U.S. for trying to get chemical weapon off dark web

PEMBINA, N.D. — A Winnipeg woman has been sentenced to six years in the United States for trying to purchase a toxin off the dark web.

Sijie Liu, who is 37, was sentenced in a U.S. District Court in North Dakota on June 22 after pleading guilty to attempting to acquire a chemical weapon.

Court documents say Liu went on the dark web, which is part of the internet only accessible through tailored software, to try an buy the toxin.

But she was, in fact, communicating with an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In March 2019, Liu crossed the border and went to a business in Pembina, N.D. to pick up a package under a false name and was arrested outside.

She is to remain incarcerated in the U.S. until she can be transferred to Canada to serve the rest of her sentence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2020

The Canadian Press

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