Two men are facing federal charges for allegedly participating in a scheme to smuggle contraband from China into the United States via the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, officials announced Thursday.
Zhongliang Wang, 39, and Chenyu Zhao, 31, both of Hacienda Heights, were charged last week in L.A. federal court with conspiracy and illegally removing goods from customs custody, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wang and Zhao allegedly directed cargo shipping containers flagged for U.S. Customs and Border Protection secondary inspection to unauthorized off-site locations, where they unloaded the contraband in the containers, replaced it with filler cargo, and then returned the cargo containers to CBP for inspection, in an attempt to deceive customs officials and evade law enforcement, court papers show.
To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, law enforcement has seized more than $1.3 billion worth of contraband associated with this and similar cargo-swapping schemes.
According to the court documents, a search of one warehouse used by the group charged in the case led to the seizure of significant quantities of counterfeit goods, including luxury handbags and footwear, as well as about 43 pounds of enobosarm, an illicit steroid.
Federal prosecutors allege Zhao and other co-conspirators maintained and operated warehouses to store, conceal and sell large amounts of contraband goods that were illegally imported into the United States from China. When the contraband containers were selected by CBP for inspection, the defendants allegedly hired commercial truck drivers to transport the containers from the ports to locations that the conspirators controlled, including at least one warehouse in the city of Industry that was controlled or managed by Zhao and others, according to court papers.
Wang, Zhao and others paid fees to co-conspirators that were substantially above normal trucking fees to transport the contraband shipping containers, federal prosecutors contend. As alleged in the complaint, Wang paid $15,000 to divert a single cargo container in December 2024.
If convicted of all charges, Wang and Zhao would face up to five years in federal prison for each conspiracy count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of breaking customs seals, prosecutors noted.