The "X" post on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement account Tuesday stated:
Of course, the Reckoning had to research more.
From a December 2024 release:
"A San Bernardino County man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he exported to North Korea shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items that were concealed inside shipping containers bound from Long Beach. Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison."
Obviously, Wen only received eight years if you divide 96 months by 12.
Here's what Wen did before he received his student visa. He met with North Korea government officials at a North Korean embassy in China, according to the release.
"These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea," according to the DOJ.
After his 2012 visa expired in 2013, he stayed.
It's unclear what Wen did during that time.
But in 2022, the DOJ wrote in its news release that "two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods – including sensitive technology – from the United States to North Korea via China."
Then, Wen, "at the direction of North Korean government officials ... shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach to China en route to their ultimate destination in North Korea."
Wen took steps to conceal that he was illegally shipping firearms to North Korea by, among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers.
Sounds like a spy novel
Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston in June 2023.
He paid for the business with money sent through intermediaries by one of his North Korean contacts.
He then purchased many of the firearms he sent to North Korea in Texas. Wen drove the firearms from Texas to California. He arranged for them to be shipped.
In December 2023, Wen falsely reported to U.S. officials that it contained a refrigerator. Yet, it was weapons. That shipment left the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024.
"This weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea," the DOJ release stated.
In September 2024, the DOJ stated that North Korean officials directed Wen as he "bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea."
The DOJ stated, "In furtherance of the conspiracy and at the direction of North Korean officials, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he intended to send to North Korea. This technology included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions."
Wen didn't stop there.
"Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification," the DOJ stated.
North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen to procure firearms and other goods for their government, according to documents.
Wen did not deny any of his actions during his plea agreement.
Perhaps it is ironic that ICE posted about this case this week as President Donald Trump announced a plan to allow 600,000 Chinese student visas to be issued.
