A Chinese national living illegally in the U.S. was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for exporting firearms and other military items to North Korea. Shenghua Wen, 42, concealed the items in shipping containers leaving the Port of Long Beach. North Korean officials wired him around $2 million for his services. Wen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and acting as an illegal agent for a foreign government. He has been in custody since December 2024. Wen entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2012 but stayed illegally after it expired in 2013. Before entering the U.S., he met North Korean officials in China who directed him to procure goods for North Korea. In 2022, North Korean officials contacted Wen online, instructing him to smuggle firearms and sensitive technology from the U.S. to North Korea via China. He shipped at least three containers of firearms to China from the Port of Long Beach in 2023, using false export information. In May 2023, Wen bought a firearms business in Houston with funds from North Korean contacts. He purchased many firearms in Texas, transporting them to California for shipment. In December 2023, a shipment falsely declared as containing a refrigerator was sent to Hong Kong and later transferred to Nampo, North Korea. In September 2024, Wen bought 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition for North Korea. He also obtained sensitive technology, including a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver. Wen admitted in his plea that he knew exporting firearms and technology to North Korea was illegal and that he lacked the necessary licenses. He failed to notify the U.S. Attorney General about acting under North Korea's direction.