LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized $16 million worth of counterfeit luxury items shipped from China all the way to a South Texas city.

Along with Homeland Security, agents found 79,000 fake items ranging from apparel to consumer electronics in Laredo. The phony items included brand names like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Nike, Apple, Samsung, and Sony.

HIS agents began surveillance of a storage unit on May 17 revealing the transferring of boxes to pickup trucks with Mexican license plates. Inside the unit 275 boxes were found with the trademark-infringed items.

Investigators believe the smugglers were trying to transport the illegal items to Mexico paying bribes to cartel to bypass the required documents. The cartels then extort the legal system to pass the merchandise without an inspection.

“Trafficking counterfeit goods poses a triple threat,” said Tim Tubbs, deputy special agent in charge of HSI Laredo. “Counterfeit merchandise wreaks havoc on local economics, threatens the health and safety of the American public and funds criminal organizations engaged in other illegal activities.”

So far, no one has been arrested in the investigation.

This is the second-largest counterfeit seizure in Laredo’s history.