A Chinese national living in Ontario was arrested on Dec. 3 for allegedly exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea, officials with the Department of Justice said.
Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario, allegedly exported these shipments by concealing the materials in shipping containers dispatched from Long Beach through Hong Kong to North Korea, a violation of federal law and U.S. sanctions.
Wen came to the U.S. in 2012 on a student visa, which he overstayed. Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney based in Los Angeles, said that prior to leaving China, Wen met with North Korean officials at North Korean consulates.
“Once Mr. Wen came to this country, North Korean officials reached out to him,” Estrada said. “They asked him to obtain specific items including firearms and ammunition.”
Estrada said North Korean officials paid him at least $2 million to do so. Wen bought Super Armory, a federal firearms licensee from the state of Texas, for $150,000.
Through his business and others he paid, Wen obtained firearms, often from Texas, and brought them into California to be shipped, DOJ officials said. There were at least two shipments in 2023, one of which was labeled as a refrigerator and another as camera parts.
On Aug. 14, a chemical threat identification device and a hand-held broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices were both seized by law enforcement in Wen’s home. Authorities allege Wen intended to send both items to North Korea. Then on Sept. 6, officials seized around 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen also intended to ship to North Korea, officials said.