Unlawful immigrant from China shipped weapons to North Korea from California: DOJ

The Justice Division alleges that an unlawful immigrant from China shipped weapons to North Korea from California. 

In keeping with a brand new federal grievance filed within the Central District of California, Shenghua Wen, in addition to different unnamed co-conspirators, “efficiently exported at the least two shipments of firearms and ammunition to North Korea by concealing the gadgets inside transport containers that have been shipped from Lengthy Seaside, California, via Hong Kong, China, to North Korea.” 

Federal brokers on Aug. 14 seized from Wen’s residence in Ontario, California, “two units that Wen admitted he procured to ship to the North Korean authorities for its army use,” courtroom paperwork say. 

These gadgets have been a “Serstech Arx mkII Pharma gadget — a chemical menace identification gadget” and “an ANDRE Deluxe Close to-Subject Detection gadget,” which the grievance explains is “a handheld broadband receiver that detects identified, unknown, unlawful, disruptive, or interfering transmissions” and, in response to the producer, is “moveable, non-alerting, and ideally suited for finding hidden eavesdropping units.” 

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Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters constructing in Washington D.C. (Celal GüneÅ/Anadolu Company through Getty Photographs)

On Sept. 6, federal brokers additionally seized 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition from Wen’s van parked outdoors his residence that the defendant allegedly “admitted he procured to ship to North Korea on the course of North Korean authorities officers,” the grievance says. Prosecutors mentioned Wen is “a Chinese language nationwide who’s illegally in the USA and is due to this fact prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.” 

The grievance says Wen entered the USA in 2012 on a pupil visa and stayed in the USA illegally as soon as his visa expired. Throughout interviews with investigators, Wen allegedly admitted that he met North Korean authorities officers at two separate North Korean Consulates in China earlier than he got here to the USA and was directed to obtain items on behalf of the North Korean authorities, seemingly as a result of they knew he was “good at smuggling.” 

Federal prosecutors mentioned brokers seized units from Wen’s residence. (Justice Division)

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He allegedly advised investigators that North Korean authorities officers wired him roughly $2 million to buy firearms and different merchandise for the North Korean authorities. In keeping with the grievance, Wen advised investigators that he believed the North Korean authorities needed the weapons and ammunition for a possible assault on South Korea. He allegedly mentioned that the North Korean authorities needed him to acquire army uniforms that they might use for a shock assault.

The grievance says Wen bought an armory and a federal firearm license for $150,000 and listed his companion’s title because the enterprise proprietor to register with the Texas Secretary of State. 

Figuring out that gun shops would flag the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) if he tried to purchase firearms instantly, Wen mentioned he had others make the purchases for him, in response to the grievance. 

Units seized from Wen’s residence.  (Justice Division)

“As soon as the straw purchasers gave WEN the firearms, he transported them to California, packed the firearms right into a transport container, and shipped the container to China, realizing that it could be transferred to North Korea,” the grievance says. 

Wen allegedly “defined that he bought most of the firearms that he despatched to North Korea in Texas and that he drove the firearms from Texas to California on three separate journeys,” the grievance says. 

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Wen allegedly advised investigators the shipments occurred in October 2023 and December 2023. 

The U.S. legal professional’s workplace in Los Angeles is predicted to carry a press convention in a while Tuesday concerning a improvement in a “vital nationwide safety investigation.” 

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