The two defendants allegedly carried out a ‘cargo-swapping’ scheme via Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Two Los Angeles men were recently arrested for allegedly running a scheme to smuggle counterfeit goods from China through Southern California ports, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California stated on Feb. 6.
Zhongliang Wang, 39, and Chenyu Zhao, 31, both of Hacienda Heights, were arrested last week for allegedly carrying out what prosecutors called a cargo-swapping scheme via the Ports of Los Angles and Long Beach.
Under the scheme, the defendants took cargo shipping containers selected for inspection by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from ports to their warehouses. They then broke the security seals on the containers, removed the contraband, stuffed the containers with filler cargo, and replaced the broken seals with counterfeit ones, according to prosecutors.
Afterward, Wang and Zhao directed co-conspirators to transport the containers to a CBP-authorized location for inspection, the prosecutors said. The co-conspirators were allegedly paid trucking fees higher than the normal transportation rate.
According to the criminal complaint, Wang and Zhao paid $15,000 for each cargo container diverted from inspection in November and December 2024.
One of the warehouses allegedly controlled by Zhao was located in California’s City of Industry. According to the complaint, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on the warehouse in June 2024, finding fake luxury handbags, counterfeit shoes and sunglasses, and 43 pounds of enobosarm, an illicit steroid.
A photo in the complaint showed a fake luxury handbag bearing the brand name Christian Dior, while another photo showed several boxes with the word Prada.
Wang and Zhao allegedly began their scheme in July 2023, according to the complaint.
“Protecting our nation’s borders from illegal smuggling is a top priority,” U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said in a statement. “These arrests highlight the unrelenting efforts of law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks that seek to exploit our trade system and endanger American businesses and consumers.”
By Frank Fang
