Thread: 87 charged in counterfeit drugs, money, cigarettes

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87 charged in counterfeit drugs, money, cigarettes
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
MARK SHERMAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The guests thought they were headed to an early afternoon wedding on a yacht docked near Atlantic City. Instead, they landed in jail instead, courtesy of an elaborate ruse by federal authorities hoping to bust up an international smuggling ring.

Lengthy undercover investigations on opposite sides of the country resulted in indictments of 87 Asians and U.S. citizens on charges of smuggling counterfeit money, drugs and cigarettes into the United States, law enforcement officials said Monday.

Authorities said they seized $4.4 million in high-quality fake $100 bills, more than 1 billion counterfeit cigarettes worth $42 million, and ecstasy, methamphetamine and Viagra worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Some of the cigarettes were made in China, said acting assistant Attorney General John Richter. The money appeared to have been produced in North Korea, two officials said on condition of anonymity because there are ongoing counterfeiting investigations involving similar phony currency.

Agents also seized $700,000 in fake postage stamps and blue jeans worth several hundred thousand dollars, FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said.

Indictments were unsealed Sunday and Monday in Los Angeles and Newark, N.J. Fifty-nine people were arrested over the weekend in 11 cities in Canada and the United States, including Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Forty-two of those charged were arrested on their way to the fake wedding, called for 2 p.m. Sunday, off the Jersey coast. Operation Royal Charm was named for the yacht.

The affair was seven months in the making, and the bride and groom were undercover FBI agents who worked with the accused smugglers for years, said Christopher J. Christie, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

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Federal charges include RICO violations

By From staff and wire reports

A probe of alleged conspiracies to launder money and smuggle drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods into the United States led to the arrests of 27 people from the San Gabriel Valley, officials said Monday.
The weekend arrests which included residents from San Gabriel, Rosemead, La Puente, Temple City, El Monte, Hacienda Heights, Monterey Park, Alhambra, Rowland Heights and Walnut were among 59 in the United States and Canada involving the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies, federal officials said.

Most of those arrested in Los Angeles County were arrested at their homes, said Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI.

"This is a culmination of a three-year investigation,' Eimiller said. "I think it's a good example of inter-agency cooperation.'

Following the arrests, federal indictments were unsealed in Los Angeles and Newark, N.J., naming 87 people allegedly involved in the smuggling and counterfeiting operation.

The charges include violations of Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes, dealing in counterfeit U.S. currency, narcotics and illegal weapons trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States, officials said.

The maximum sentence on RICO charges is life in prison, Eimiller said. Other charges involving smuggling counterfeit currency, conspiracy to smuggle weapons and drugs carry maximum sentences of five years to life.

"The criminal conspiracies we have ended here had the potential to undermine our financial security and compromise the safety of our streets,' said U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "We are grateful to the men and women whose actions and bravery prevented these drugs, weapons and counterfeit money from getting into the hands of criminals who could use them to harm America.'

Nearly half of the arrests in Los Angeles County stemmed from an investigation dubbed "Operation Smoking Dragon,' which authorities said resulted in the seizure of nearly $1.2 million in counterfeit currency.

"Operation Smoking Dragon uncovered an extremely sophisticated smuggling operation that included the production of counterfeit goods and their distribution across the country,' said U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang. "The top-to-bottom nature of the organization has resulted in a racketeering indictment that has crippled an enterprise responsible for flooding the United States with bogus consumer products, dangerous drugs and fake government-issued documents.'

Authorities determined that cartons of counterfeit cigarettes - worth $40 million - were smuggled into the United States, along with 9,100 ecstasy pills, four kilograms of methamphetamine and several hundred thousand dollars worth of counterfeit goods including Viagra and other pharmaceuticals, officials said.

Meanwhile, 12 other people were arrested in the Los Angeles area in connection with charges stemming from Operation Royal Charm, an investigation in New Jersey into an organization accused of smuggling counterfeit U.S. currency into the United States on container ships with false bills of lading.

Forty-two of those charged were arrested on their way to the fake wedding off the Jersey coast.

The affair was seven months in the making, and the bride and groom were actually undercover FBI agents who worked with the accused smugglers for several years, said Christopher J. Christie, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

That investigation has resulted in the seizure of more than $3.3 million in counterfeit currency, $2 million in counterfeit cigarettes, 36,000 ecstasy pills and almost one-half kilo of methamphetamine, officials said.

The San Gabriel Valley residents arrested in connection with Operation Smoking Dragon and Operation Royal Charm are:

- San Gabriel residents Chen Chiang Liu, aka Wilson Liu, 42; Dong Jie Li, aka Jenny Li, 31; Thi Hong Lan, aka Sam Lan, 41; Ly Trinh Hinh, 40; and Tat Chui Wong, aka Sunny Wong, 57.

- Rosemead residents Yi Qing Chen, 41; Willon Kow Szeto, aka John Szeto, 68; Ching You Guo, aka Michael Guo, 28; and Chun Nam Yeung, aka Peter Yeung, 63.

- Monterey Park residents Dong Yang Jiang, 49; and Sang Cam Ngu, aka John Ngu, 44. Yan Jun Ji, 34, Van C. Phu, aka Steve Phu, 58; Cecelia Peng, 47; and Zhi Gang Wang, 42.

- La Puente resident John Chao Wu, 42.

- Temple City resident Billy Cheng Ngo, 45; and Alan Hwang, 41.

- El Monte resident Sang Xuan Diep, aka Sammy Yip, 48.

- Hacienda Heights resident Hue Diep, aka Jimmy Yip, 38.

- Alhambra residents Sal Anthony Salazar, 23; Wai Leung Chu, aka Paul Chu, 45; Yuan Heng Tung, aka Henry Tung, 47; Yinghoun Tung, aka Christopher Tung, 25; and Keung Lam, 42.

- Rowland Heights resident Shuang Ying Huang, aka Tina Huang, 42.

- Walnut resident Gao Rong Xiao, 42.