Four arrested with counterfeit cigarettes

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Los Angeles police say they've arrested four people and seized about 500 cartons of fake brand-name cigarettes in a crackdown on counterfeiting operations.

Detectives made the arrests after serving search warrants Wednesday at two locations in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At the two locations, about 450 cartons of counterfeit tobacco with an estimated street value of $25,000 and 53 cartons of duty-free tobacco with a value of $3,000 were seized, along with three handguns, authorities said.

The suspects arrested were identified as Johnny Morales, 20; Elena Bautista, 39; Benjamin Leal, 58; and Jose Garcia, 59.

"We hope to increase global awareness of the negative impact of organized intellectual property crimes," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said in a statement. "Counterfeiting and piracy impact public safety by funding organized crime, street gangs, and even terrorism through the sales of these counterfeit products."

Some of the counterfeit cigarettes contain materials not usually found in tobacco products, investigators warned.