9 indicted in $200M smuggling operation from China to US

Logistics executives, warehouse owners and truck drivers were among nine people indicted in a smuggling operation involving about $200 million worth of counterfeit and other illegal products from China into the United States through the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Eight of the defendants were arrested on Friday and Saturday. A ninth person remains at large. They were named in a 15-count indicated unsealed Friday.

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Participants in the scheme took shipping containers flagged for additional inspection at the ports to an off- site facility, where contraband goods were unloaded and stored in warehouses, according to prosecutors. The containers were re-filled with filler cargo to deceive customs officials and evade law enforcement, authorities said.

Once the shipping containers were at the facilities, the security seals were broken and the illegal items were removed. Counterfeit security seals were then placed on the containers to make it appear nothing had been removed, authorities said.

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The containers were transported to Customs and Border Protection-authorized sites for inspection. Co-conspirators were paid fees that were "substantially above" normal trucking fees to have the containers transported, prosecutors said.

More than $130 million in goods were seized by investigators, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The smuggling ring led to at least $200 million in goods being brought into the country illegally, authorities said.

Seized items included shoes, perfume, handbags, clothing and watches.