Eight arrested in California trucking conspiracy to smuggle in $200 million in illegal cargo from China

California prosecutors say that eight people have been arrested in connection with a scheme to smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal items from China into the U.S. through Los Angeles-area ports.

Federal law enforcement arrested eight people for an alleged conspiracy among logistics company executives, warehouse owners, and truck drivers to bring counterfeit and other illegal goods from China into the U.S., according to a January 27 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Nine defendants have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and breaking customs seals. One individual remains a fugitive at this time.

See the U.S. Attorney’s Office listing of the charged individuals below:

• Weijun Zheng, 57, a.k.a. “Sonic,” of Diamond Bar, the lone fugitive in the case, who controls several logistics companies operating in the Los Angeles area;
• Hexi Wang, 32, of El Monte, who manages K&P International Logistics LLC, a City of Industry-based company that hires commercial truckers to transport shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles;
• Jin “Mark” Liu, 42, of Irvine, the owner of K&P International Logistics LLC and who managed the finances of one of the warehouses where contraband was unloaded and issued payments to truck drivers who transported smuggled goods;
• Dong “Liam” Lin, 31, of Hacienda Heights, who – along with Zheng – controlled and operated one of the contraband warehouses;
• Marck Anthony Gomez, 49, of West Covina, the owner and operator of Fannum Trucks LLC, a West Covina-based company that coordinated the movement of shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles, including large shipments of contraband smuggled into the United States from China;
• Andy Estuardo Castillo Perez, 32, of Apple Valley, a driver for M4 Transportation Inc., a Carson-based company that transports shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles;
• Jesse James Rosales, 41, of Apple Valley, who coordinated truckers from the ports to warehouses;
• Daniel Acosta Hoffman, 41, of Hacienda Heights, worked with Rosales to bring cargo containers from the Port of Los Angeles to warehouses; and
• Galvin Biao Liufu, 33, of Ontario, directed and managed truck drivers to bring the contraband into the warehouses.

Officials detailed the scheme taking place from at least August 2023 to June 2024:

“According to the indictment, Zheng, Wang, Liu and others 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 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for inspection, the defendants hired commercial truck drivers to transport the containers from the Port of Los Angeles to locations that the conspirators controlled, including warehouses in the City of Industry that were controlled or managed by Zheng, Wang and others.

At these locations, co-conspirators broke the security seals on the shipping containers and removed the contraband from inside. Then, they affixed counterfeit security seals onto the containers to conceal that cargo had been removed from them. Zheng, Wang and others then directed co-conspirators to transport the containers – after they had been emptied of much of their original cargo and re-secured with counterfeit seals – to CBP-authorized locations for the remaining cargo to be presented to customs officials for inspection.

Zheng, Wang, Liu and others paid fees to co-conspirators, including Gomez and Castillo Perez, that were substantially above normal trucking fees to transport the contraband shipping containers.“

Investigators have so far seized $130 million worth of contraband associated with the scheme, but it is believed that the group smuggled in at least $200 million worth of goods.

“It was a team of CBP agriculture specialists assigned to the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport who in 2023, during a routine examination of a container made the initial discovery,” said Cheryl Davies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “This case attests to their unwavering vigilance, upmost professionalism, and keen focus in protecting the integrity of lawful trade, a key component of our critical national security mission.”

If convicted, the defendants could face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of breaking customs seals, and up to 20 years in prison for each smuggling count.

Investigating agencies include Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Coast Guard Investigative Services.