A Chinese national living illegally in Ontario was arrested Tuesday for sending guns, ammunition and military equipment to North Korea through shipping containers out of Long Beach, federal prosecutors allege.
Shenghua Wen, 41, was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release .
According to prosecutors, Wen overstayed a student visa, making him legally unable to possess guns or ammunition. Despite that, he and his co-conspirators “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,” the DOJ said.
Items seized include about 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, a device to identify chemical threats and a hand-held broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices, authorities said.
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The U.S. DOJ provided these undated images of weapons and military equipment that Shenghua Wen allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. -
The U.S. DOJ provided these undated images of weapons and military equipment that Shenghua Wen allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. -
The U.S. DOJ provided these undated images of weapons and military equipment that Shenghua Wen allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. -
The U.S. DOJ provided these undated images of weapons and military equipment that Shenghua Wen allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea. -
The U.S. DOJ provided these undated images of weapons and military equipment that Shenghua Wen allegedly tried to illegally send to North Korea.
