LOS ANGELES
A San Bernardino County man was arrested Tuesday on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he exported to North Korea shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items, officials stated.
The items were concealed inside shipping containers bound from Long Beach.
Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario, is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Wen is a Chinese national illegally residing in the United States.
“It is essential that we protect our country from hostile foreign states that have adverse interests to our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “We have arrested a defendant who allegedly acted at the direction of the North Korean government by conspiring to illegally ship firearms, ammunition, and other military equipment to North Korea.”
Wen overstayed his student visa, is accused of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
According to investigators, Wen and his co-conspirators concealed military-grade items, including firearms and ammunition, in shipping containers destined for North Korea, defying U.S. sanctions.
Law enforcement seized significant evidence from Wen’s home, including:
- A chemical threat identification device and a broadband receiver intended for military use.
- Approximately 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Messages recovered from Wen’s iPhone revealed that in December 2023, he smuggled restricted items from Long Beach to Hong Kong en route to North Korea. He also exchanged communications with co-conspirators about shipping military-grade equipment and attempted to procure a civilian plane engine earlier this year.
According to an affidavit filed on November 26 with the complaint, Wen obtained firearms, ammunition, and export-controlled technology with the intention of shipping them to North Korea – a violation of federal law and United States sanctions against that nation.
Wen and his co-conspirators allegedly exported shipments of firearms and ammunition to North Korea by concealing the items inside shipping containers that were shipped from Long Beach through Hong Kong to North Korea.
On August 14, law enforcement seized at Wen’s home two devices that he intended to send to North Korea for military use: a chemical threat identification device and a hand-held broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices.
On September 6, law enforcement seized approximately 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen allegedly obtained to send to North Korea.
A review of Wen’s iPhone revealed to law enforcement that in December 2023, Wen smuggled items from Long Beach to Hong Kong with their destination being North Korea.
Messages retrieved from Wen’s cellphones revealed discussions he had earlier this year with co-conspirators about shipping military-grade equipment to North Korea.
Some of these messages include photographs that Wen sent of items controlled for export under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
From January 2024 to April 2024, Wen sent emails and text messages to a U.S.-based broker about obtaining a civilian plane engine. There also were several text messages on Wen’s iPhone concerning price negotiation for the plane and its engine.
Wen is a Chinese national who is illegally in the United States after overstaying his student visa and is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.
Wen lacks the required licenses from the U.S. government to export ammunition, firearms, and the other devices that law enforcement seized at his home to North Korea.
The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; DCIS; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.