A federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion by accused Maui spy Noshir Gowadia to suppress statements he made to government investigators during 13 days of questioning just prior to his 2005 arrest.

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor also denied motions to suppress statements he made to customs agents and evidence they seized.

The former B-2 stealth bomber engineer is accused of selling military secrets to China. His trial is due to begin at U.S. District Court in Honolulu on May 5.

Gowadia has been indicted on 21 counts of conspiracy, money-laundering and falsifying tax returns. He has pleaded not guilty. He has been held without bail since his arrest.

An explanation of Gillmor's ruling on statements Gowadia made during 13 days of interrogation on Maui and Oahu in October 2005 was not posted on the federal court's Web site.

The Haiku man's defense team had argued his remarks should be inadmissible because they were obtained "as the result of threats, coercion and unreasonable delay between his arrest and initial appearance."

Prosecutors argued he was free to leave, make phone calls and conduct personal business during questioning before his Oct. 26, 2005 arrest.

They said he took breaks during the interrogation and freely chose to return from lunch for more questioning every day.

Regarding statements Gowadia made to customs agents, Gillmor said they may question people leaving the country without reading them their rights.

She added the government also reasonably searched a shipping container Gowadia had sent to Maui from Singapore.

Gowadia's lawyer, David Klein, had no comment.

Klein had argued statements Gowadia made to customs agents at Honolulu International Airport in August 2003, April 2004 and June 2004 should be inadmissible because he wasn't advised of his Miranda rights before questioning.

The defense argued evidence the agents obtained from Gowadia as he was leaving the U.S. in April and June 2004 should be suppressed because it was taken during a warrantless search.

The defense also argued agents improperly seized the shipping container from Singapore that was addressed to Gowadia in Maui after a warrantless search.