Smuggling Counterfeit Goods Update

The massive crackdown on the smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes and money, which we previously discussed here and here, has resulted in even more arrests and seizures.^[1] The operation, dubbed Operation Royal Charm, has resulted in the seizure of an additional $1.8 million in counterfeit cigarettes seized in southern New Jersey, and $2.7 million worth seized in Port Elizabeth, and $500,000 worth seized in northern New Jersey.^[2] Furthermore, an additional $2 million in counterfeit US currency, “commonly referred to as ‘super notes,’” were seized in Taiwan.^[3]

One of the most interesting aspects of this case is that some of the arrests were made when the alleged smugglers were lured to a yacht in Atlantic City where they expected to attend a wedding, but instead were arrested by federal agents.^[4] This isn’t the first time the US has used a yacht to lure suspects into the hands of federal authorities.

In the 1991 case, United States v. Yunis,^[5] the defendant, a Lebanese citizen, was wanted in the United States for his role in the 1985 hijacking of Royal Jordanian Airlines Flight 402. He was located in Lebanon, and, after obtaining an arrest warrant, the FBI instituted “Operation Goldenrod” in which Mr. Yunis was lured onto a yacht in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with promises of a drug deal.^[6] Once the yacht was in international waters, he was arrested and transferred to a US Navy munitions ship where he was interrogated, and then transferred to an aircraft carrier, which took him to Washington, D.C.^[7]

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[1] Millions More in Bogus Cigarettes, Cash Seized by Feds, Associated Press, Sept. 6, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] 924 F.2d 1086 (1991). (Word document)
[6] Id. at 1089.
[7] Id.