A man living in California has been accused of exporting guns and ammunition to North Korea, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release Tuesday.
According to the DOJ’s release, authorities arrested 41-year-old Shenghua Wen on Tuesday “on a criminal complaint alleging that he exported shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea.” The items were hidden within shipping containers heading out of Long Beach, Calif, the DOJ said.
The DOJ, in an affidavit, said that Wen, a Chinese national, was able to acquire firearms, export-controlled technology, and ammunition with the goal of sending them to North Korea. Wen, alongside co-conspirators, allegedly sent firearms and ammunition to North Korea by hiding them within shipping containers heading out of Long Beach “through Hong Kong to North Korea.”
“Wen is a Chinese national who is illegally in the United States after overstaying his student visa and is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition,” the DOJ said in their press release. “Wen lacks the required licenses from the U.S. government to export ammunition, firearms, and the other devices that law enforcement seized at his home to North Korea.”