Just before Lunar New Year 2009, Kevin Chen Yi-Lan landed in Guam.
But the 40-year-old Taiwanese businessman wasn't there for a new year holiday. He was there to pick up a few hard-to-get items for customers in the Middle East.
They were small items, pocket-sized bits and pieces.
One customer wanted specialised glass-to-metal pin seals, which are used in vacuum components, sensor and transducer housings, harsh environment feedthroughs and battery headers.
The other customer was looking for circular hermetic connectors, which are designed to facilitate the flow of electrical current across two devices.
Chen never made it home.
As small as these devices are they are considered sensitive technologies - used commercially, but with military and nuclear applications as well.
