US Accuses Chinese National of Conspiring to Ship Military Items to North Korea
A Chinese national was arrested on Dec. 3 for allegedly conspiring to export firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced. Shenghua Wen, an illegal resident of California, was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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Wen allegedly planned to illegally ship the export-controlled technology to North Korea by hiding it in shipping containers that were shipped from California to North Korea through Hong Kong, DOJ said.
Law enforcement seized two devices -- a hand-held broadband receiver and a "chemical threat identification" device -- along with 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition that DOJ said he planned to ship to North Korea. The agency also found, through a search on his iPhone, that he had discussions with others about shipping military-grade equipment to North Korea. DOJ said some of those messages included pictures Wen sent of items controlled for export under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
He also sent emails and text messages from January to April to a U.S. broker about "obtaining a civilian plane engine," DOJ said. "There also were several text messages on Wen’s iPhone concerning price negotiation for the plane and its engine."
The agency said Wen was living illegally in the U.S. after overstaying his student visa.