La Puente shipping company closes, stranding Mexico-bound packages

Customers of a La Puente shipping business arrived at its warehouse this week to find it shuttered and empty, ABC7 Eyewitness News reported, after paying hundreds of dollars to send boxes to family members and small-business suppliers in Mexico.

The closure of Paqueteria Internacional has left an undetermined number of customers — many of them immigrant workers who paid to send gifts or merchandise to Mexico — without their goods or refunds, as the company told customers last week it was entering bankruptcy proceedings.

Customer Jesus Lopez told ABC7 Eyewitness News he drove to the Paqueteria Internacional warehouse seeking answers about boxes he had paid to ship. "I just decided to come today. And I found out that there's nobody here," Lopez said. He added that the company had initially confirmed his packages left for Mexico City before abruptly canceling the order.

"After that, it was canceled. I couldn't get no more information. I called. I texted," Lopez told ABC7.

The company sent customers a message last week saying it was "in the process of bankruptcy," according to ABC7. Phone numbers listed for the business went unanswered, and the warehouse was found empty after Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies cleared the area following chaotic scenes outside the building. The company had promised to return stored boxes by Monday, but delivery did not occur, ABC7 reported.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department directed customers to pursue the matter as a civil court dispute, according to ABC7. The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs confirmed it had received recent consumer complaints about Paqueteria Internacional.

For many customers, the missing shipments represented more than money. Ana Cristina Flores became emotional when she spoke to ABC7 about what she had lost. "I get emotional because only God knows what we're going through here with everything," Flores said. An unidentified customer described a shared grief: "We work, and everything is expensive. We want our family to have something from us, from here. And that's the disappointment. Even the police don't help us."

The packages contained gifts for family members in Mexico and merchandise customers had intended to use to launch small businesses, according to ABC7.

Customers with complaints may contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has characterized the matter as a civil dispute.