Mexican cops seize 200 tons of smuggled, pirated goods

Published April 27, 2011

EFE

Monterrey – Some 800 police backed by army troops laid siege to more than 20 city blocks in this northern Mexican metropolis to carry out raids that netted more than 200 tons of smuggled and pirated merchandise, authorities said.

The operation was directed by inspectors of the tax service and finance ministry.

The inspections targeted merchants in central Monterrey, capital of Nuevo Leon state and home to many of Mexico's leading industrial corporations.

Merchandise seized in the raids filled more than 17 trucks, authorities said.

Tuesday's sweep followed the arrest last year of Gabriel Ayala Romero, known as "the king of piracy," who distributed counterfeit goods to retail outlets in the states of San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Veracruz.

Ayala earned more than 23 million pesos (nearly $2 million) a month from selling pirated merchandise, the Mexican army says.

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