Undocumented Chinese immigrant charged with selling weapons to North Korea

(LONG BEACH, Calif.) — An undocumented Chinese national living in the U.S. has been charged with procuring and shipping guns, ammunition and electronics to North Korea, according to federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Shenghua Wen was allegedly moving items to North Korea by concealing them in shipping containers from Long Beach, California, through Hong Kong and then to North Korea.

Federal agents in August seized two devices from Wen’s home that he had allegedly planned to send to North Korea for its military use — a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver, according to a criminal complaint.

In September, over 50,000 rounds of ammo were found in Wen’s vehicle that he allegedly admitted were heading to North Korea, the complaint says.

Wen entered the United States on a student visa in 2012 and never left, according to the complaint.

He allegedly met North Korean officials in China before he came to the U.S., the complaint alleges. He was then directed to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.

Being in the U.S. illegally, Wen knew he could not buy the goods so he allegedly used other people to purchase the guns through straw purchases, prosecutors say.