Feds Seize Sweet Stash in 195-Barrel Chicago Honey Raid

Special agents recently sniffed out a sweet stash of illegally imported shipping containers in Chicago packed with more than $200,000 worth of Chinese honey.

The nearly 60 tons — that's 195 barrels — of illicit nectar were smuggled in into the United States this spring via false markings that they hailed from Vietnam, according to a May 5 news release issued by the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The declaration reportedly intended to evade anti-dumping duties applicable to Chinese-origin honey.

A domestic honey packer located in the Midwest notified HSI Chicago in March of the suspect honey after laboratory reports provided to the tipster appeared fraudulently altered, officials said. The raid was part of a department initiative to crack down on commercial fraud with a focus on U.S. economic, and health and safety interests. Officials say that anti-dumping criminal schemes create a divergent market that is detrimental to businesses.

"Ensuring a safe food supply is a crucial component of border security," James Gibbons, acting special agent in charge of HSI Chicago, said in the news release. "HSI and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the domestic honey market and U.S. consumers by aggressively investigating deceptive and illicit import schemes."

Agents seized the three shipping container loads on April 28 and thereafter, sent honey samples to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) laboratory in Savannah, Georgia, for analysis.

CBP determined that the honey had a greater-than 99 percent probability match with Chinese-origin honey.

With the recent enactment of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA), Congress recognized that industries and companies that circumvent U.S. law and regulation remain a risk to this nation’s economic security. Among its provisions, TFTEA requires ICE and CBP to collaborate to enhance trade enforcement, with a specific emphasis on honey illegally imported into the United States in violation of customs and trade laws.

Officials noted that the honey packer informant and individuals from the private laboratory whose reports were fraudulently altered are fully cooperating and are not targets in their investigation. Federal agents are working to determine where in the supply chain the private laboratory reports were altered.