BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - An illegal alien from China was sentenced to 96 months in prison for smuggling firearms and other military items to North Korea.
Shenghua Wen of Ontario was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson for the Central District of California for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition, and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach. He has committed this crime at the direction of North Korean government officials, who wired him approximately $2 million for his efforts, the US justice department said.
Wen, who has been in federal custody since December 2024, pleaded guilty on June 9 to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
The 42 year-old Chinese citizen entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the country illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013.
Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea's government at a North Korean embassy in China. These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea, according to the US justice department.
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