A Chinese citizen was sentenced to eight years in prison for smuggling weapons and other military items to North Korea, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

The 42-year-old Shenghua Wen received approximately $2 million from North Korean officials to transport the items from California, where he resides.

He has been in custody since last December, and in June he pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to acting illegally as an agent of a foreign government.

Wen’s case highlights the various ways North Korea circumvents international sanctions on arms trade, the BBC reported.

The U.S. Department of Justice describes Wen as an “illegal alien,” stating that he entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country after it expired in December 2013.

Before entering the United States, he reportedly met with North Korean government officials at the North Korean embassy in China, who instructed him to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.

In 2022, two North Korean officials contacted Wen through an online platform, asking him to smuggle weapons and other goods from the U.S. to North Korea.

The following year, he sent at least three containers of firearms from the Port of Long Beach to China, with a final destination in North Korea. Information about the contents of the containers was false. Among other shipments, last September he purchased around 60,000 nine-millimeter bullets to send to North Korea.

U.S. authorities also stated that Wen acquired “sensitive technology” intended for shipment to North Korea, including a chemical threat detection device.

Under U.N. Security Council sanctions, North Korea is prohibited from trading weapons and military equipment. The U.S. has also imposed its own sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile activities.