U.S. Customs in Pittsburgh seizes counterfeit items potentially worth $200K

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized multiple “Express Delivery” parcels headed for Western Pennsylvania destinations, including Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, containing counterfeit brand name merchandise that would have fetched more than $200,000 on the market if authentic.

The largest seizure was March 25 when officers confiscated a shipment of 645 designer brand name charms in Pittsburgh that shipped from Hong Kong, said border patrol spokesman Stephen Sapp of the field division office in Baltimore. If authentic, those “knockoff designer” charms would have had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $150,000, according to Sapp.

On March 2, Sapp said officers conducted random express delivery parcel examinations and opened a parcel manifested as containing phone cases and accessories. The parcel instead contained 433 Chanel charms, 173 Louis Vuitton charms, 10 Fendi charms, eight Michael Kors charms, six Dior charms, five Chloe charms, three Gucci charms, three Hermes charms, two Tiffany and Co. charms and two Chanel waist chains.

Sapp said officers had to confer with the agency’s trade experts to confirm the items were counterfeit before they were confiscated.

Officers also intercepted 23 parcels, 19 of which arrived from Hong Kong, two from China, and one each from Singapore and Taiwan between March 27 and April 5. Collectively, the packages contained 264 Flawless shavers, 235 Apple chargers, 120 pairs of Apple ear pods, 60 HDMI switches, 21 fully loaded Nintendo-like gaming systems, 20 pairs of Air Jordan sneakers and an assortment of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi and Gucci purses and wallets, Sapp said. All were counterfeit.

If authentic, the goods would have brought more than $51,000, Sapp said..

The parcels were destined for addresses in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Sapp said officers still are investigating whether any of the purchasers will be charged, but said most will not be prosecuted.

“Usually, we only charge those who have a history of repeatedly purchasing counterfeit items or make large, bulk purchases intending to sell the items retail. Many of these items were single seizures and the people involved will wind up losing the money they paid for the particular items,” Sapp said.

Consumers should be aware that counterfeit goods pose a health and safety threat and could cause financial hardship, officials noted. The electric shavers could malfunction, the phone chargers could overheat and ignite, and the gaming systems could be loaded with malicious software that could steal consumers’ identities or financial information, Sapp said.

“Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to working with our trade and consumer safety partners to identify and seize potentially harmful counterfeit products,” said Kathleen Killian Schafer, the border patrol’s acting port director in Pittsburgh. “CBP urges consumers to protect their families and their wallets by purchasing authentic goods from reputable vendors.”

She added that importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy and threaten the health and safety of citizens.