United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 25,000 fake Viagra pills at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaport. It also seized more than 5,000 pieces of counterfeit apparel of brands like Nike and Gucci, and around 930 counterfeit makeup and perfume products.
The CBP officials said the merchandise, which was seized in September, has a street value of nearly $3.5 million.
Carlos Martel, Director, Field Operations at CBP, said, “CBP is committed to detecting, intercepting and seizing contraband and dangerous imports arriving at our Greater Los Angeles Area ports of entry every day. Not only do counterfeits damage the American economy, such goods can threaten the health and safety of consumers.”
The CBP officers worked with import specialists from the agency’s consumer products and mass merchandising, footwear, apparel, textiles, pharmaceuticals, health and chemical departments to take more than 31,000 counterfeit products off the market.
The officers said, “The goods had arrived in a containerized cargo shipment from China.”
The seized clothing and footwear were fake products of brands like Ferragamo, Moschino, Versace, Balenciaga, Nike Jordans, and Air Max wares.
The CBP officers and U.S. Homeland Security investigators turned the shipment over to the LAPD’s Anti-Piracy Unit for further investigation on September 21.
Donald Kusser, Director of Los Angeles-Long Beach seaport, said, “The best way consumers can protect themselves and avoid this type of fraud is to purchase items from legitimate sources only. Consumers should also know that the money they pay for fake products often funds transnational criminal organizations.”
In the FY 2019, CBP authorities said they seized 27,599 shipments of fake items, which could have made faux-brand dealers $1.5 billion. The news was published on Long Beach Post News.
