Saturday, March 27, 2010

International counterfeiting ring busted

From the Times Ledger:

A Whitestone resident and another Queens man were among nine people indicted in an international counterfeiting and smuggling ring that delivered goods to sites in Ridgewood and Maspeth as well as College Point, federal authorities said.

Kin Yip Ng, 43, of Whitestone and Yenn-Kun Hsieh, 45, of an undisclosed location in Queens, were charged along with a Brooklyn woman, two Malaysians and four Chinese citizens with conspiring to smuggle counterfeit shoes, handbags and wristwatches into the United States, the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office said.

According to a federal indictment issued March 16, the defendants arranged with undercover agents from the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Bureau to import and clear shipments of counterfeit products into the United States without paying federal taxes and customs duties.

The nine defendants manufactured, brokered and distributed the fake Nike, Coach, Gucci and Cartier goods, importing them from Malaysia and China, federal prosecutors said. The items arrived in Baltimore, where the shipping containers were unloaded and delivered to locations in Ridgewood, Maspeth and College Point, as well as Brooklyn and New Jersey, prosecutors said.

The alleged smugglers imported 130,000 pairs of counterfeit shoes and 500,000 fake designer handbags, officials said.

Hsieh, Ng and others also allegedly paid the undercover agents extra to launder money for their ring and at one point paid the agents to ship three cargo containers to England, prosecutors said.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why am I not surprised to discover that they are Chinese?

An old proverb:

"The mountains are high
and the emperor is far away".

Translation:

"If nobody's looking you can screw everybody while you're making a buck off of it".

But the cops weren't far away.

DEPORT 'EM!
I ain't payin' for their rice
and fish head soup in prison!

Joe said...

LOL ---Like that was a big surprise.
Flushing must hold 1/2 the US supply of $25 Rolex's and Bootleg movies, DVDs etc. Yet the cops & feds hardly look.

PS: I love them $25 Rolex's

Anonymous said...

actually who cares? Its not like any of this crap is made in the US in the first place, so it doesnt hurt the average person, just the corporations (it aint like theres a nike factory in brooklyn, and all this counterfeit crap is threatening American jobs).

Babs said...

"Why am I not surprised to discover that they are Chinese?"

But - WHO is doing the buying?

Although I love quality, I would NEVER wear anything with the initials of someone other than myself - but, I am of the minority.
People who like designer labels, but can't afford to spend $300 plus for a handbag are the ones who buy the counterfeit bags.

There is at least a 400% markup on all designer goods - people think these bags enhance their image - HAH!

They should start arresting people who buy these markoffs - for their bad taste if nothing else.

Babs said...

Anonymous - who cares?

Most of these items are made in sweatshops IN THE USA - in New York specifically.

The purchase of counterfeit goods supports organized crime.

Babs said...

Joe -

Rolexes were popular back in the 80s with drug dealers.

Give 'em up.

georgetheatheist said...

Whenever I buy a pair of jeans, I take an Exacto blade to the label and remove the stitching. Good-by label. My reasoning? If you want me to advertise your product on my ass, no problemo. Pay me for it. Think like an entrepreneur. Hey kids, they don't teach you that in skrool.

Anonymous said...

Actually, we are lucky if they stop with clothing. Counterfeit toothpaste such as was sold a few years ago can be pure poison. Diluted shampoos can contain bacteria. If you are not sure who you are buying from, skip it.

Better 100% authentic cheapo brand than counterfeits.

panzer65 said...

You really have to wonder whats in those dirty little cube trucks marked
"Trading Company"