On Friday, January 9th, the Southern District Attorney’s Office in Texas, USA, announced that seven individuals have been indicted for their alleged involvement in a firearms smuggling operation. The main suspect is Chinese national Shenghua Wen, whose US visa expired back in 2013, making him an illegal resident.
The group is charged with “smuggling firearms to North Korea,” according to the announcement title. The indictment reveals that the mastermind of the operation is 39-year-old Chinese citizen Wen, who has appeared in federal court in Houston where his expired visa was highlighted.
Others indicted include Chinese citizens Sifu Zhao (24 years old), Yiyang Wu (40 years old), Mingtong Tan (27 years old), and Max Mingze Li (36 years old), who all reside in Houston, as well as Jin Yang (60 years old) living in Ontario, California. Additionally, US citizen Richard Arredondo, aged 51 and residing in Mexicali, Mexico, is also among the accused.
According to the indictment submitted on October 8, 2025, Wen and his girlfriend, Yang Jin, purchased a firearms store and instructed others to buy specific firearms, which were then resold through “straw purchasers” including Zhao, Tan, Wu, Li, and Arredondo.
Wu was also accused of recruiting another “straw purchaser” to join the group and transport handguns to another firearms dealer in Houston for resale to others.
Between 2023 and 2024, the group acquired approximately 170 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition intended to be smuggled to North Korea. Several defendants acted as straw purchasers or facilitated the transportation and resale of firearms.
The indictment alleges that Wen recruited Zhao and Tan as straw purchasers to buy firearms on his behalf. These firearms were then transferred to another gun store in Houston and sold to members of the criminal group.
The main suspect Wen and his girlfriend Yang Jin face charges of conspiracy and trafficking firearms. If convicted, they could face five and fifteen years of imprisonment, respectively. Wen could also face an additional five years if found guilty of any of the seven charges of aiding and abetting false statements to federal firearms licensees.
Other defendants including Li, Arredondo, Wu, Zhao, and Tan face charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting false statements to federal firearms licensees, which could lead to a maximum of five years in prison if convicted on all counts.
All charges could come with fines of up to $250,000.
The investigation was conducted with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Houston Police Department. Assistant US Attorney Ganjei is responsible for the prosecution in this case.
Wen was arrested in December 2024 and pleaded guilty in June 2025 in the Central District of California court to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
According to information released by the US Department of Justice, Wen entered the US on a student visa in 2012 and overstayed it, remaining illegally in the country. Before coming to the US, he had clandestine meetings with North Korean officials at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing. After entering the US, he procured goods for North Korea as directed by officials, including firearms and sensitive technology smuggled from the US.
On August 18 of the previous year, he was sentenced to 8 years for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. The Department of Justice stated that Wen acknowledged knowing the illicit nature of the act from the start, acted under orders from North Korean government officials, and admitted to never obtaining the necessary permits for exporting ammunition, firearms, and related equipment to North Korea.
Now, he faces charges in a Texas court for firearm smuggling, directing straw purchasers, and illegal firearm acquisitions.