Shenghua Wen, a 42-year-old Chinese man, admitted on June 9 that he was secretly sending weapons and ammunition from the United States to North Korea. The U.S. Justice Department announced the plea and called it a serious violation of national security laws. Wen had been living in the U.S. illegally after overstaying his student visa.
Wen was arrested in December 2024 in California. U.S. officials said he received about US$2 million from North Korea in return for the weapons and other items he sent. These actions violated long-standing U.S. sanctions that firmly prohibit the transfer of weapons or military equipment to North Korea.
Wen didn’t work alone. He had help from unnamed co-conspirators who have not been publicly identified. Together, they hid firearms and bullets inside large shipping containers. These containers were sent from the Port of Long Beach in California, made a stop in Hong Kong, and then continued on to North Korea.
What Was Found: Ammunition, Devices, and a Plane Engine
The items Wen planned to send were not just regular packages. They included serious military and spy equipment.
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In August, U.S. law enforcement officers searched his home and found two sensitive devices that he was preparing to ship to North Korea.
One of the devices was a chemical threat detector, which is used to spot dangerous chemical substances that can be used in attacks. The other device was a handheld broadband receiver, used to find hidden listening devices, often used in spying.
Then in September, officers seized a large shipment of 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen had purchased to send to North Korea. That amount of bullets could cause serious harm in the wrong hands.
Wen didn’t stop there. The Justice Department also revealed that he tried to buy a civilian airplane engine from a U.S. broker. Exporting that kind of engine without approval is against U.S. laws, especially if it’s being sent to a banned country like North Korea.
These items—guns, bullets, chemical detectors, and plane parts—are all tightly controlled. Selling or sending them to countries under U.S. sanctions can pose serious risks to national and global safety.
Wen Faces Decades Behind Bars
Now that Shenghua Wen has admitted to the crimes, he is waiting for his punishment. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 18. The charges against him are very serious.
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For breaking export control laws, Wen faces up to 20 years in prison. On top of that, he could receive another 10 years for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government—North Korea. That means he could spend up to 30 years in a U.S. prison.
Wen’s case is a strong reminder of how dangerous it is to break laws related to weapons and national security. It also shows how people can abuse their stay in the U.S. for illegal and harmful purposes.
Law enforcement agencies worked hard to catch Wen and stop the flow of weapons before more damage could be done. The Justice Department continues to investigate the case to find out more about his partners and the full scale of the operation.
