Prosecutors accuse a man of smuggling weapons to North Korea from Long Beach

Although Shenghua Wen entered the United States on a student visa and eventually settled in San Bernardino County, law enforcement officials say he had a more nefarious purpose: exporting shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military equipment to North Korea.

Federal authorities arrested Wen, 41, at his Ontario home on Tuesday, saying he was acting as an agent of the North Korean government and smuggling illegal goods hidden in containers from Long Beach.

Wen, who authorities say is a Chinese national illegally present in the U.S. after overstaying his visa, was charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which deals with sanctions and the freezing of foreign assets. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Federal public defender Wen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, it is illegal to provide North Korea with certain military technologies and materials without the consent of the U.S. government.

“North Korea has engaged in a plan to circumvent and circumvent these restrictions,” Estrada said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “It is imperative that we keep sensitive materials, including military equipment, out of reach of our adversaries where they can harm us or our allies.”

Wen, who came to the U.S. in 2012, was “key to this plan and central to the plot” by North Korea, Estrada said.

According to the complaint filed on November 26, before leaving China, Wen met with North Korean government officials at two separate consulates, where they allegedly instructed him to purchase goods in the United States.

In an interview with federal authorities, Wen said he was probably chosen for the job because he was good at smuggling.

Wen told authorities that while he was in the U.S., he was contacted by two North Koreans living in China, whom he identified as Jin Yong Nan and Cui. The complaint says Wen contacted Cui through an encrypted messaging platform.

In an interview with federal authorities, Wen admitted that in October and December 2023, he sent two containers of firearms and other items to North Korea via Hong Kong. One shipment was marked as a refrigerator and the other was marked as camera parts, according to Estrada. Wen allegedly received money for containers and shipping fees – totaling at least $2 million – from North Korean government officials.

To obtain the gun, Wen purchased Super Armory, a federally licensed firearms company that he later registered in Texas, for $150,000. The complaint says Wen allegedly used the company and other people called straw buyers to assemble shipments. Authorities said he would then transport the weapons and ammunition from Texas to California.

Federal authorities said they also found emails and text messages dating from January 2024 to April 2024 between Wen and a U.S.-based intermediary about purchasing an engine for a civil plane. In a September interview with authorities, Wen said North Korean officials had ordered him to buy aircraft engines that, according to the complaint, would be used to develop North Korea’s military drone program.

The complaint says that on August 14, at Wen’s home, law enforcement officers seized two devices that he allegedly intended to send to North Korea for military purposes: a chemical threat identification device and a handheld counterintelligence gadget that detects electronic wiretapping.

On September 6, law enforcement seized approximately 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition – which Wen kept in his white Ford pickup truck – which he allegedly obtained to send to North Korea.

The complaint says Wen told authorities he believed the North Korean government wanted the items he sent to prepare for an attack on South Korea. Wen allegedly told authorities that the government wanted him to obtain military uniforms to be used by the North Korean military to disguise soldiers during a surprise offensive.

The complaint says Wen’s student visa was valid from Dec. 5, 2012, to Dec. 3, 2013. Estrada said it was unclear whether this was legitimate and whether he was actually studying.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wen was ordered removed from the U.S. in 2018, and after his 2021 arrest, he signed a form acknowledging that he had overstayed in the country. It is unclear how he managed to stay in the country.

Estrada said authorities learned about Wen through numerous tips, including from people he tried to buy items from.

“We can’t say how long he operated it, the investigation is ongoing,” Estrada said.