A Chinese national was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly shipped weapons and ammunition from Long Beach, California, to North Korea.
A Chinese national was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly shipping weapons and ammunition from Long Beach, California, to North Korea.
Shenghua Wen, 41, who had been “illegally residing in the United States,” was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The press release described Wen as being a Chinese nation who had overstayed his student visa in the U.S. and who was “therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.”
Violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is described as a “felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison,” according to the press release.
Wen reportedly “exported to North Korea shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items” that had been “concealed inside shipping containers” from Long Beach. The containers were then shipped from Long Beach to Hong Kong and from Hong Kong to North Korea.
“It is essential that we protect our country from hostile foreign states that have adverse interests to our nation,” U.
