Bellevue businessman charged in alleged honey-smuggling operation

A Bellevue businessman and his Chinese partner have been charged in Seattle with conspiracy in connection with an international honey-smuggling operation.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Chung Po Liu, 68, of Bellevue, and Boa Zhong Zhang of China were charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Zhang is a 30-year employee of a "bee products company" in China, whose president, Yong Xiang Yan, was charged today in Chicago in a similar complaint.

Liu surrendered to U.S. Marshals today, according to U.S. District Court officials. He is expected to appear later before a U.S. magistrate judge.

Zhang and Yan were arrested in Los Angeles this morning after arriving two days ago from Zhengzhou, China, federal officials said. The men are charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by submitting false paperwork in connection with the honey imports.

According to a news release, they hoped to avoid paying huge anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese honey by saying their product was from Thailand or the Philippines.

Liu is the president of two companies, Rainier Cascade and Evergreen Produce, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The charges allege the companies purchased honey in China and then had it shipped to other countries where the country-of-origin labels were replaced.

Since 2001, the U.S. has imposed heavy anti-dumping duties against all Chinese honey imports to "offset the effects of unfair trade practices that give imports an advantage over competing U.S. goods," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The duty imposed on Chinese honey was 183 percent between 2001 and 2007, and has been 221 percent since.

ICE alleges that Rainier Cascade has imported as many as 20 shipments of Chinese honey illegally, worth about $1.4 million. The unpaid tariffs amount to nearly $3.3 million.

Agents seized an alleged Chinese honey shipment in Long Beach, Calif., in 2007 and two others in Seattle in January and February 2008.

The complaint filed in Chicago alleges that some Chinese honey has been found to be contaminated with antibiotics.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com