CHARLESTON: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized an estimated $1.1 million in counterfeit mobile phone accessories shipped through the Port of Charleston March 14. The haul included cases, chargers, cables, and headphones on March 14. Customs agents say the merchandise arrived into the port from China and was destined for upstate South Carolina. A closer look at the manifest showed 85,000 individual accessories bearing images and markings from Apple, USB, Bluetooth, Blu-Ray, LG, Marvel, DC Comics, Hello Kitty, and Dr. Dre.
Representatives from these companies confirmed their images and markings were being used without their permission, making them counterfeit and subject to seizure, the Customs officials say. Additionally, Customs agents say they seized 38,000 power adapters, which had a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mark signifying they’d been tested in an accredited FCC laboratory for operating standards. These were found to be unauthorized markings as well, and officials say they could have presented potentially significant safety risks
