A Chinese man residing within the U.S. illegally was arrested Tuesday and accused of exporting weapons and ammunition to North Korea and of planning to ship different expertise to the nuclear-armed pariah state.
Shenghua Wen, 41, was residing in Ontario, in Southern California east of Los Angeles, on an expired visa when he performed the illicit commerce, officers mentioned.
At least two shipments of firearms and ammunition have been despatched, hidden in delivery containers, from the port in Long Beach and on to Hong Kong after which North Korea, in line with court docket paperwork.
“The significance of this arrest and discovery of this scheme can’t be overstated,” Akil Davis, assistant director in command of the FBI’s Los Angeles subject workplace, mentioned in a press release.
Law enforcement seized some materials within the U.S. earlier than it could possibly be shipped, officers mentioned.
In September, authorities searched Wen’s dwelling and located round 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and a receiver that detects eavesdropping gadgets, the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Los Angeles mentioned.
Wen got here to the U.S. on a pupil visa in 2012 however stayed after it expired, in line with an affidavit filed as a part of the felony grievance.
Wen advised U.S. investigators that earlier than he got here to the U.S. he had met with North Korean officers at consulates in China and that they instructed him to ship items to North Korea, which is beneath extreme sanctions limiting commerce, in line with the affidavit.
Wen mentioned that in 2022, he was contacted by two North Korean officers in China who needed him to ship weapons and ammunition to North Korea, the affidavit alleges.
Wen purchased the weapons by means of straw patrons, largely in Texas, and drove them to California, in line with prosecutors. He “acknowledged that it was a easy course of for him to buy firearms,” the affidavit alleges.
He is accused of working with different, unnamed co-conspirators. The writer of the affidavits is redacted, and another info within the doc is redacted, as nicely.
The North Korean officers had greater than weapons and ammunition on their minds, in line with the affidavit.
Wen advised investigators that the officers he was involved with needed him to ship civilian plane engines to assist the North Korean navy’s drone program, the affidavit writer wrote.
Wen’s telephone confirmed messages a few half and controller of the Star Safire system, a navy video and infrared system to be used on plane, the affidavit says.
The North Korean officers additionally requested for navy uniforms, which Wen mentioned he believed can be used to assist launch a shock assault towards South Korea, the doc says.
Online court docket data didn’t seem to point out Wen’s case in publicly accessible paperwork, and it was not clear whether or not he had an lawyer who might converse on his behalf Tuesday afternoon.
Wen is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If he’s convicted, that cost carries as much as 20 years in jail, the prosecutor’s workplace mentioned.
