According to Department of Justice officials, a Chinese national residing in Ontario was detained on December 3 on suspicion of trafficking weapons, ammunition, and other military supplies to North Korea.
In violation of federal law and U.S. sanctions, Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario, is accused of exporting these shipments by hiding the components in shipping containers that were sent from Long Beach to North Korea via Hong Kong.
Wen overstayed his student visa, which allowed him to enter the country in 2012. Before departing China, Wen met with North Korean officials at North Korean consulates, according to Los Angeles-based U.S. attorney Martin Estrada.
According to Estrada, North Korean officials contacted Mr. Wen after he arrived in our nation. They requested that he get certain things, such as guns and ammunition.
Estrada said he was paid at least $2 million to do so by North Korean authorities. For $150,000, Wen purchased Super Armory, a Texas-based federal guns licensee.
According to DOJ officials, Wen acquired weapons, frequently from Texas, through his company and others he paid, then transported them into California for shipment. In 2023, there were at least two shipments, one of which was marked as camera parts and the other as a refrigerator.
Law enforcement confiscated a chemical threat identification gadget and a handheld broadband receiver that can identify eavesdropping devices from Wen’s residence on August 14. According to authorities, Wen planned to ship both goods to North Korea. Then, on September 6, authorities reportedly found about 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen also planned to send to North Korea.
It was known that Wen has been staying in the United States illegally since around 2018. The complaint claims that Wen was ordered to depart in 2018. He admitted to knowing he was living in the United States illegally when he was detained in 2021, according to officials. Regarding how he managed to stay in the nation, officials would not comment.
According to officials, an examination of Wen’s iPhone revealed that he had spoken with an unnamed individual regarding the purchase of American commercial aircraft engines for North Korea. According to the Estrada, Wen also planned to send American military outfits abroad at the behest of North Korean authorities.
According to Estrada, they informed him that the purpose of this military garb was to aid in carrying out a surprise attack on South Korea.
Wen faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
“I express my appreciation to the law enforcement personnel who were involved in this,” Estrada stated. It’s impossible to predict what much harm Mr. Wen may have caused had law police not stepped in.
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