US Customs Made 14,675 Seizures Worth More Than $155 Million In 2006
Counterfeit Goods Seizures Were
Up 83% in 2006:
The department’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) components made more than 14,000 seizures of counterfeit goods worth more than $155 million, which represents a 67 percent increase from the year before. ICE investigations resulted in 219 arrests, 134 indictments and 170 convictions in intellectual property rights violations, a 71 percent rise in the conviction rate from the year before.
We particularly like the following quotes:
“The team of CBP and ICE is a counterfeiter’s worst nightmare. Together we are committed to stopping criminals who attempt to profit from the sale of illegal and potentially harmful merchandise,â€?
So, are we talking about drugs and weapons here?
Maybe but the cases highlighted are all about, er, dangerous consumer goods:
In one of the largest seizures of counterfeit goods in DHS history, ICE and CBP officers in Arizona, Texas and California, seized 77 containers of counterfeit Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes and one container of Abercrombie & Fitch clothing, with an estimated value of $69.5 million. Six individuals, two of them U.S. citizens, were indicted by a federal grand jury for attempted bribery, trafficking in counterfeit goods and conspiracy.
Other examples included:
– Fake Zig zag cigarette papers
– Fake football sports wear
– Fake Nike, Reebok, Puma, Umbro, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Prada, Ferragamo, Luis Vuitton, Versace and Hugo Boss
Lucky we have the Dept of Homeland Security in charge of controlling fashion terror.
The full news story is on the US Customs website:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/01112007_1.xml
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