Australia detains alleged key player in North Korean tobacco smuggling scheme after US request

News Snapshot:

A Chinese national has been quietly arrested and detained in Australia for 11 months at the request of US authorities investigating an alleged tobacco smuggling conspiracy that generated an estimated A$1.1bn (US$700m) in revenue to North Korea. Jin Guanghua, 52, was arrested by the Australian federal police in Melbourne last March. Described in US court documents as an Australian resident, Jin was kept in custody in Melbourne for several months before being transferred to immigration detention while awaiting extradition. The Federal Bureau of Investigation alleges Jin and others conspired for about a decade to supply tobacco to North Korea, which...