Indian held, accused of helping China design missile

“This came out of nowhere,” Gowadia said.

A week later, on October 13, 2005, agents arrested Noshir Gowadia, a native of India who received a PhD at 15, on suspicion he sold military secrets to China.

Maui, a mostly rural island of 140,000 known more for big-wave surfing and five-star resorts, is an unlikely place for a spy saga. But prosecutors say Noshir Gowadia used Maui as a base to design a stealth cruise missile for China. He was indicted on 21 counts of conspiracy, money-laundering and falsifying tax returns. Despite the seriousness of the charges, the case has received scant public attention.

The defendant has been out of sight since a judge determined he was a flight risk and denied him bail.