Texas Authorities Arrest Individuals in $150 Million NVIDIA GPU Smuggling Operation to China
Authorities in the Southern District of Texas have announced the arrest of two businessmen involved in a sophisticated smuggling operation of NVIDIA GPUs to China. The operation, known as 'Operation Gatekeeper,' resulted in the seizure of over $50 million worth of NVIDIA H100 and H200 chips, which are used for training and running AI models. The smuggling network allegedly violated U.S. export laws by attempting to export or successfully exporting at least $160 million worth of these GPUs. The accused individuals, including a Houston company owner, used falsified paperwork, misclassified goods, straw purchasers, and even removed NVIDIA labels to facilitate the illegal export to mainland China and Hong Kong. The investigation has been ongoing since at least the previous year. 
