A man living in Southern California was arrested Tuesday and accused of exporting guns and ammunition to North Korea and of planning to send other technology to the nuclear-armed pariah state. Shenghua Wen, 41, is Chinese, but was living in Ontario, east of Los Angeles, on an expired visa when he conducted the illicit trade, NBC News reports. “The significance of this arrest and discovery of this scheme cannot be overstated,” Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement. According to an affidavit filed as part of the criminal complaint, Wen came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2012 but stayed after it expired. He told U.S. investigators that before he came to the U.S. he had met with North Korean officials at consulates in China and that they instructed him to send goods to North Korea, which is under severe sanctions restricting trade. In 2022, he was contacted by two North Korean officials in China who wanted him to send guns and ammunition to North Korea. He bought the guns through straw buyers, mostly in Texas, and drove them to California, according to prosecutors. He “stated that it was a simple process for him to purchase firearms,” the affidavit alleges.
The North Korean officials had more than guns and ammunition on their minds, according to the affidavit. Wen told investigators that the officials he was in contact with wanted him to send civilian aircraft engines to help the North Korean military's drone program. The North Korean officials also asked for military uniforms, which Wen said he believed would be used to help launch a surprise attack against South Korea, the document says. Wen is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If he is convicted, that charge carries up to 20 years in prison, the prosecutor's office said.
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