thousands of counterfeit Coach and Gucci shoes, 500 counterfeit Cartier wrist watches and counterfeit Viagra pills.

Federal prosecutors in Maryland announced the indictments Friday of nine people on charges of smuggling 120,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes and half a million counterfeit Coach handbags through the Port of Baltimore.According to the 72-count federal indictment, undercover officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement infiltrated the massive operation in 2008, delivering a shipment of 10,000 Nike shoes to Brooklyn, N.Y. The arrests came this week.The products were mostly made in Malaysia and China. Three U.S. citizens are charged with smuggling, trafficking counterfeit goods and money laundering. Four Chinese citizens and two Malaysians also are charged.The crimes occurred in Maryland, New York, North Carolina and elsewhere, authorities said.The merchandise also included thousands of counterfeit Coach and Gucci shoes, 500 counterfeit Cartier wrist watches and counterfeit Viagra pills.Merchandise was delivered to sites in New York and New Jersey with payments and smuggling fees paid in cash. Money was wired to accounts in Asia, and the ring was designed to avoid payment of import duties, authorities said.
The investigation also led to the arrests Thursday of six men in London, in what authorities called one of the biggest counterfeit goods seizures in the United Kingdom's history.Authorities confiscated counterfeit Nike, Ugg, Adidas, Versace, Ralph Lauren and other brand-name merchandise.