NORFOLK, Va. — A former Navy civilian engineer charged with trying to steal aircraft carrier schematics and send them to his native Egypt will remain in custody until his trial.
Mostafa Ahmed Awwad of Yorktown, Virginia, appeared in federal court Wednesday. The Virginian-Pilot reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Miller noted the strength of the government's case in ordering the 35-year-old Awwad held.
Awwad, a former Egyptian citizen, faces two counts of attempted exportation of defense articles and technical data. Prosecutors claim Awwad tried to steal technical data in the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is under construction and is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2016.
The alleged scheme is outlined in an affidavit by an undercover FBI agent who posed as an Egyptian intelligence officer.
