Illegal immigrant from China shipped weapons to North Korea from California: DOJ

Suspect allegedly said he believed the weapons were for an attack on South Korea

The Justice Department alleges that an illegal immigrant from China shipped weapons to North Korea from California. 

According to a new federal complaint filed in the Central District of California, Shenghua Wen, as well as other unnamed co-conspirators, "successfully exported at least two shipments of firearms and ammunition to North Korea by concealing the items inside shipping containers that were shipped from Long Beach, California, through Hong Kong, China, to North Korea." 

Federal agents on Aug. 14 seized from Wen's home in Ontario, California, "two devices that Wen admitted he procured to send to the North Korean government for its military use," court documents say. 

Those items were a "Serstech Arx mkII Pharma device — a chemical threat identification device," and "an ANDRE Deluxe Near-Field Detection device," which the complaint explains is "a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive, or interfering transmissions" and, according to the manufacturer, is "portable, non-alerting, and ideal for locating hidden eavesdropping devices." 

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Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building in Washington D.C.  (Celal GüneÅ/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

On Sept. 6, federal agents also seized from Wen's van parked outside his home 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that the defendant allegedly "admitted he procured to send to North Korea at the direction of North Korean government officials," the complaint says. Prosecutors said Wen is "a Chinese national who is illegally in the United States and is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition." 

The complaint says Wen entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and stayed in the United States illegally once his visa expired. During interviews with investigators, Wen allegedly admitted that he met North Korean government officials at two separate North Korean Consulates in China before he came to the United States and was directed to procure goods on behalf of the North Korean government, likely because they knew he was "good at smuggling." 

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He allegedly told investigators that North Korean government officials wired him approximately $2 million USD to purchase firearms and other products for the North Korean government. According to the complaint, Wen told investigators that he believed the North Korean government wanted the weapons and ammunition for a potential attack on South Korea. He allegedly said that the North Korean government wanted him to obtain military uniforms that they would use for a surprise attack.

The complaint says Wen purchased an armory and a federal firearm license for $150,000, and listed his partner's name as the business owner to register with the Texas Secretary of State. 

Knowing that gun stores would flag the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) if he tried to buy firearms directly, Wen said he had others make the purchases for him, according to the complaint. 

"Once the straw purchasers gave WEN the firearms, he transported them to California, packed the firearms into a shipping container, and shipped the container to China, knowing that it would be transferred to North Korea," the complaint says. 

Wen allegedly "explained that he purchased many of the firearms that he sent to North Korea in Texas and that he drove the firearms from Texas to California on three separate trips," the complaint says. 

Wen allegedly told investigators the shipments took place in October 2023 and December 2023. 

The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles is expected to hold a press conference later on Tuesday regarding a development in a "significant national security investigation."