Parents of MacDill explosive device suspects taken into ICE custody

The parents of the suspect accused of planting an explosive device at MacDill Air Force Base were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials confirmed on Friday.

A package containing “possible energetic materials” was found outside the MacDill Air Force Base visitors center at the Dale Mabry gate on March 16.

Agents determined that Alen Zheng, 20, planted the device on March 10 before making a 911 call saying there was a bomb at the base. He and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng, 27, allegedly sold their Mercedes-Benz SUV and left for China by March 12.

Ann Mary Zheng was arrested upon her return to the U.S. However, authorities believe Alen Zheng is still in China as of this report.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the suspects were born in the U.S., but their parents are in the country illegally.

DHS said Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng both applied for asylum in 1993, but an immigration judge denied those claims and ordered their removal in 1998.

The Bureau of Immigration Appeals denied multiple attempts from the pair to have their case reopened, but they remained in the country illegally, DHS said.

Read more: WFLA