US smashes 'fake Nike smugglers'

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The US says it has seized more than 135,000 fake Nike running shoes, smashing one of the largest counterfeit smuggling rings in recent history.

Six people have been charged with trying to import the fake goods from China, US officials said.

The fake Nike Air Jordan shoes reportedly had a retail value of $16m (£8.5m) and were to be smuggled to the US in 15 shipping containers.

The gang members are said to have come from Mexico, China and the US.

The charges they face carry a five-year prison sentence and fine of $250,000 (£133,000).

The gang is said to have been planning to use fake documents to suggest the shoes had been re-exported to Mexico.

The US Homeland Security and Justice departments said they had disrupted "one of the largest counterfeit merchandise smuggling schemes uncovered in recent US history".