Houston Gun-Trafficking Ring Charged With Smuggling Weapons to North Korea

File photo: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington, D.C. (Madalina Vasiliu / The Dajiyuan)

[People News] U.S. prosecutors have charged a total of seven people—including six Chinese nationals and one U.S. citizen—accusing them of attempting to obtain firearms in the Houston, Texas area through so-called “straw purchases” and smuggle those weapons to North Korea.

According to a report by Voice of America, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced on January 9 that it had filed charges against 39-year-old Chinese national Shenghua Wen (phonetic transliteration), identified as the ringleader of the gun-smuggling group. Also charged were Chinese nationals Shifu Zhao (phonetic transliteration), Yiyang Wu (phonetic transliteration), Mingtong Tan (phonetic transliteration), Max Mingze Li (phonetic transliteration), all residing in Houston; Jin Yang (phonetic transliteration), residing in California; and U.S. citizen Richard Arredondo, residing in Mexico. The charges include conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms and inducing others to make false statements, among others.

According to the indictment released by prosecutors, Wen Shenghua remained illegally in the United States after his visa expired in 2013. He and his girlfriend jointly purchased a gun store and instructed “straw purchasers” he recruited to buy specific models of firearms.

In the course of this operation, U.S. citizen Arredondo and four Chinese nationals living in Houston, acting under Wen Shenghua’s direction, falsified firearms purchase forms and completed the weapons acquisitions.

The indictment states that between 2023 and 2024, the group acquired approximately 170 firearms, including handguns, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition, with the ultimate destination of these weapons and ammunition being North Korea.

The Department of Justice specifically noted that Wen Shenghua, as the mastermind of this smuggling network, had already been apprehended in 2022 at the Port of Long Beach in California. At that time, he attempted to ship an entire container of weapons to North Korea disguised as refrigerators. Wen Shenghua was sentenced last year to eight years in prison and is currently serving that sentence.

Prosecutors stated that Wen Shenghua had been recruited by North Korean agents even before entering the United States on a student visa in 2012, and had since been engaged in procuring weapons for North Korea, receiving $2 million in compensation.

Prosecutors also said that Wen Shenghua is not only suspected of smuggling firearms, but also of attempting to smuggle to North Korea sensitive technologies usable for reconnaissance and military purposes, including aircraft engines, thermal imaging systems, chemical threat detection equipment, and broadband receivers.

The U.S. Department of Justice emphasized that the case demonstrates its firm resolve to eradicate accomplices within the United States who assist North Korea’s weapons development.

The Department of Justice added that if convicted, Wen Shenghua and his principal accomplice—his girlfriend Jin Yang—could face up to 15 years and five years in prison respectively for charges including conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms. Other co-conspirators involved in the “straw purchases” could each face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

In addition, Wen Shenghua may face up to an additional five years in prison for each of seven counts of aiding and abetting false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers.

Li Mingze, Arredondo, Wu Yiyang, Zhao Shifu, and Tan Mingtong are each charged with one count of conspiracy and multiple counts of aiding and abetting false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers; if all charges are sustained, each could face up to five years in prison.

The U.S. government stated that following a recent case in New Jersey involving U.S. citizen Zhenxing “Danny” Wang (phonetic transliteration), who assisted North Korean information technology workers in seeking employment using false identities, U.S. authorities are intensifying their crackdown on accomplices within the United States who help North Korea generate illicit revenue and procure weapons, while also bringing charges against a gun-trafficking group in Texas.
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