The Justice Department says a Chinese illegal immigrant shipped weapons to North Korea from California.
According to a new federal complaint filed in the Central District of California, Shenghua Wen, along with other unnamed co-conspirators, “managed to export at least two shipments of firearms and ammunition to North Korea by concealing items in shipping containers that were being shipped.” from Long Beach, California, through Hong Kong, China, to North Korea. »
On August 14, federal agents seized from Wen’s home in Ontario, California, “two devices that Wen admitted to purchasing to send to the North Korean government for its military use,” court documents state.
These items were a “Serstech Arx mkII Pharma device — a chemical threat identification device” and “an ANDRE Deluxe near field detection device,” which, according to the complaint, is “a portable high-speed receiver that detects substances known, unknown, illegal, disruptive, or interfering transmissions” and, according to the manufacturer, is “portable, alert-free, and ideal for locating hidden listening devices.”
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Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building in Washington, DC (Célal GüneÅ/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
On September 6, federal agents also seized from Wen’s pickup truck parked outside his home 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that the defendant allegedly “admitted to purchasing to send to North Korea at the direction of government officials North Korean,” the complaint states. Prosecutors said Wen is “a Chinese national who is in the United States illegally and therefore has no right to possess firearms or ammunition.”
The complaint says Wen entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the United States illegally after his visa expired. During interviews with investigators, Wen allegedly admitted to meeting with North Korean government officials at two separate North Korean consulates in China before coming to the United States and that he was asked to purchase goods from the name of the North Korean government, probably because they knew he was “good at smuggling.”
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He reportedly told investigators that North Korean government officials sent him approximately US$2 million to purchase firearms and other products for the North Korean government. According to the complaint, Wen told investigators he believed the North Korean government wanted the weapons and ammunition for a possible attack on South Korea. He reportedly said the North Korean government wanted him to obtain military uniforms that he would use for a surprise attack.
The complaint says Wen purchased a gun store and federal firearms license for $150,000, and listed his partner’s name as the business owner to register with the Texas Secretary of State.
Knowing that gun stores would report the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) if he tried to buy guns directly, Wen said he asked others to make the purchases for him, according to the complaint.
“Once the straw buyers gave the guns to WEN, he transported them to California, packed the guns in a shipping container, and shipped the container to China, knowing it would be transferred in North Korea,” the complaint states.
Wen allegedly “explained that he purchased numerous firearms that he sent to North Korea in Texas and that he drove the firearms from Texas to California on three separate trips,” the complaint states .
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Wen reportedly told investigators the shipments took place in October 2023 and December 2023.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is expected to hold a news conference later Tuesday about developments in a “significant national security investigation.”
READ THE COMPLAINT HERE:
