Washington, Feb 21 (AFP) Call it a case of honey laundering.
US officials said today they had mounted a sting operation against two major firms illegally importing honey from China and selling it on the American market, avoiding USD 180 million in anti-dumping duties.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) described the bust as "one of the largest criminal anti-dumping cases in history."
The offence involved Chinese honey either being mis-declared as another commodity or trans-shipped through other countries such as India, Russia and Thailand to avoid trade duties.
Five people have been arrested and charged and the two firms, Honey Holding of Texas and Groeb Farms of Michigan, agreed to pay fines of USD 1 million and USD 2 million respectively.
Washington was abuzz with news of the bust, and lawmakers could not resist the urge to spread the puns on thick.
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"For too long, foreign smuggling of this product has created a sticky situation for domestic honey producers. We need a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to honey laundering."
ICE deputy director Daniel Ragsdale, who announced the results of what he dubbed "Project Honeygate", deployed a less successful metaphor, warning cryptically: "Honey is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Schemes like this result in legitimate importers and the domestic honey-producing industry enduring years of unprofitable operations, with some even being put out of business," he said.
Dozens of other commodities imported into the United States under false descriptions or origins, authorities said, costing the US taxpayer billions of dollars in lost import duties.
Ragsdale was quick to insist there was "no health and safety risk" despite some of the 4,900 barrels of seized honey being adulterated with antibiotics not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
