More than $32 million worth of fake Viagra pills, replica Air Jordans and other counterfeit products were found in cargo shipments coming from China this week, authorities said.
The massive load was seized from three containers arriving at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports in California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.
The illegal counterfeit goods included more than one million erectile dysfunction pills, headphones, purses, belts and car emblems. Photos shared by the agency suggest the shipments also included fake Dior x Air Jordan sneakers, which cost thousands of dollars.
The bust shows criminals are seeking to exploit unwitting holiday shoppers with fake products that often pose “significant health and safety concerns,” authorities said.
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“Counterfeiters are focused on making a profit; they are not focused on consumer safety,” said Donald Kusser, CBP port director of the LA/Long Beach Seaport.
“Buying counterfeit goods can expose you and your family to health and safety risks while the proceeds support criminal enterprises,” he warned consumers in a statement Thursday.
Buying counterfeit goods also sabotages the U.S. and helps fund criminal activity, CPB officials said.
“Commercial piracy and product counterfeiting undermine the U.S. economy, rob Americans of jobs, stifle American innovation and promote other types of crimes,” Special Agent in Charge David Prince, of Homeland Security Investigations, said in a statement.
In fiscal year 2020, customs officials seized more than 26,000 shipments containing fake products whose estimated value, had they been genuine, would be nearly $1.3 billion, according to the agency.
CBP urged anyone with information about counterfeit crimes to contact authorities.
Photo: CBP