A Chinese national living in Ontario illegally was arrested Tuesday for allegedly sending guns, ammunition and military equipment to North Korea through shipping containers from Long Beach, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in a news release that Wen Shenghua, 41, was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Prosecutors said Wen overstayed his student visa, which meant he could no longer legally possess guns or ammunition. Nevertheless, the Justice Department said he and his co-conspirators “hidden firearms and ammunition in shipping containers shipped from Long Beach through Hong Kong to North Korea and exported them to North Korea.” .
Officials said the items seized included approximately 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition, equipment to identify chemical threats, and portable broadband receivers to detect wiretapping devices.
The U.S. Department of Justice provided undated images of weapons and military equipment that Wen Shenghua allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. The U.S. Department of Justice provided undated images of weapons and military equipment that Wen Shenghua allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. The Justice Department provided undated images of weapons and military equipment that Wen Shenghua allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. The US Department of Justice provided these undated images. The U.S. Department of Justice provided undated images of weapons and military equipment that Moon Seong-hwa allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea.
“The importance of this arrest and the discovery of this program cannot be overstated,” FBI Los Angeles Deputy Director Akil Davis said in a statement.
“Not only did the investigative team prevent additional restricted items from being sent to the North Korean regime, but they also gathered valuable intelligence for the United States and our allies,” Davis explained. “The tremendous effort that went into building the case against Mr. Wen was committed by dedicated investigators and partners who specialize in cases involving illegal exports of weapons and technology to foreign adversaries that evade sanctions and use weapons and technology for nefarious purposes. I’m proud of that.”
Wen is scheduled to make his first appearance Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, with arraignment likely to be several weeks away.
If convicted, Wen could be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
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