The COVID?19 pandemic has not stopped the production of counterfeits or CBP seizures of such goods, including products related to the pandemic. A summary of recent CBP enforcement actions is provided below.

Capsules and Granules. CBP officers at the Port of Vicksburg/Jackson, Mississippi, announced on 1 June the seizure of two shipments of more than 2,000 Lianhua Qingwen capsules and Banlangen granules from mainland China valued at nearly US$3,000. The medications were described as a treatment for COVID?19 symptoms but they contained mostly sugar and iron. CBP notes that fraudulent COVID?19 products are a public health threat, as they can cause consumers to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment with serious or life?threatening results.

Sports Rings. CBP officers in Louisville, Kentucky, announced on 2 June the seizure of 170 counterfeit championship rings from mainland China. The rings showed copyrighted professional sports teams’ logos from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Had the rings been real, the appraised total manufacturer’s suggested retail price would had been US$43,450.

Luxury Products. CBP officers at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport recently intercepted a shipment from Hong Kong whose shipping documents raised suspicions. An examination led to the discovery of counterfeits of three Tiffany & Co. rings, six Louis Vuitton handbags, seven pairs of Chanel and Gucci sunglasses, various Powerbeats Beats by Dre headphones, seven Apple AirPod Pro earphones and two Yeti coolers. The value of the counterfeits, had they been real, would have been US$108,000.

Electronic Products. CBP officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, announced a series of seizures of more than 4,700 counterfeit streaming system remote controllers and nearly 120 Apple AirPod earphones and Lightning charging cables. Had these products been authentic, their MSRP would have been US$112,000. The counterfeit products had arrived from Hong Kong in nine shipments between 27 April and 4 May 2020.

Counterfeit Currency. CBP officers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced a seizure at an express consignment operations facility on 27 May involving a shipment from Shanghai that was headed for a residence in Milwaukee. Upon opening the parcel, officers found 3,515 counterfeit 100?dollar bills for a total of US$351,500 in counterfeit currency. The currency was made of poor material, was missing the required watermark and had no red and blue imbedded fibres, each bill had the same serial number, and there were red Chinese letters on the back of the bills. Counterfeit currency cases are investigated in co?operation with the U.S. Secret Service. 

CBP notes that e?commerce sales have contributed to large volumes of low?value packages imported into the United States. Over 90 percent of intellectual property seizures now occur in international mail and express environments and CBP continues to increase its surveillance of such shipments.