10 charged with smuggling fake Nikes, other goods into U.S.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ten members of an international smuggling ring have been arrested and charged with paying more than $500,000 in bribes to smuggle millions of dollars in fake designer goods from China to the United States, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The defendants were expected to appear Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas.

The counterfeit goods included designer jeans, Nike shoes, Burberry and Chanel handbags, and Polo and Baby Phat clothing, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.

The estimated value of the genuine versions of the goods would be more than $200 million, prompting U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia to describe the case as "one of the largest counterfeit smuggling cases ever brought in United States history."

The suspects arrested Wednesday are accused of smuggling or attempting to smuggle scores of 40-foot-long shipping containers through the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, since June 2006.

The Chinese-made knockoffs were placed in containers with false bills of lading, which are the shipping documents used to determine a cargo's point of origin and destination.

"One bill of lading claimed a container held 'noodles,' when in fact it contained counterfeit Nike sneakers," the news release said.

After the bogus goods cleared inspection at the New Jersey port, they were transported to New York-area warehouses, where they awaited distribution to retail customers.

According to the news release, the bribes were paid directly to an undercover agent whose "near-daily" conversations with the suspects were secretly recorded or monitored.

The undercover agent posed as a "corrupt longshoreman's union official, stationed at Port Newark, who had the ability to clear imported cargo through the United States customs and border security measures without detection or seizure," the news release said.

The 10 suspects are charged with conspiring to smuggle goods into the U.S., smuggling goods into the U.S. and trafficking in counterfeit goods, the news release states.

If convicted, they face up to 35 years in prison, at least $2.5 million in fines and an obligation to pay restitution to the manufacturers of the genuine versions of the goods.

Among those arrested in the sting were Robin Huff, 46, of New York, a federally licensed customs broker who is accused of using a Customs and Border Patrol database to help push goods through the port.

Also arrested were Chi On Wong, 36, and Man Wai Cheng, 34, both of New York, who operated a Brooklyn-based trucking company, KT Express Inc. Authorities allege Wong and Cheng charged smugglers a premium to transport goods around the New York area.

On Wednesday, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents raided a house in Brooklyn used as KT Express' base of operations and three other locations. Federal agents seized $80,000 in cash and two KT Express trucks allegedly used in the operation, the news release said.

Also arrested Wednesday were:

• Grace Quezon, 38, of Jersey City, New Jersey, who is alleged to have paid at least $400,000 to the undercover agent. She also is accused of smuggling or attempting to smuggle more than 25 containers of counterfeit goods.

• Michael Chu, 70, of New York, who is accused of paying more than $100,000 to the undercover agent and smuggling more than 20 containers through the port.

• Hsi Feng Li, 61, of New York, aka "the General," who is accused of telling the federal agent he could send the agent 50 containers of bogus goods a month.

• Yee Khiong Ting, 44, of New York, who is accused of coordinating shipments, paying bribes to the federal agent and selling the goods once they cleared customs.

• Troy King, 37, of New York, who allegedly worked with Chu and Quezon, and whom authorities accuse of arranging payments and overseeing operations.

• Wing Ki Lee, 36, of Jersey City, who is accused of working with King to smuggle containers into the U.S. on behalf of a Chinese manufacturer who was a primary supplier of the counterfeit merchandise.

• Dick Ong, 57, of Bergenfield, New Jersey, who is accused of tracking containers, arranging pickups and monitoring the status of containers that moved through the New Jersey port. E-mail to a friend

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