SAN JUAN: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations announced today the seizure of nearly 10,000 counterfeit products, valued at more than $1.6 million at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
A wide range of counterfeited products were seized during the operation, to include: medical equipment, automotive parts, luxury jewelry, electronics and more. Various shipments inspected by CBP officers during the operation revealed products that infringed the intellectual property rights of numerous branded names, as Apple, Audi, Beats by Dr. Dre, BMW, Cartier, Gucci, Mercedes, Oakley, PANDORA, Porsche, Samsung, Tous, Toyota, among many others. The products were all shipped from vendors in China.The MIPET is a “super” team of subject matter experts on intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement that is deployable to various ports to assist with IPR training exercises and enforcement operations.
The seizures were all part of a week-long operation carried out by CBP’s Mobile Intellectual Property Enforcement Team (MIPET), with the support of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“Trade intelligence, joint targeting and combining inspectional resources from our partner agencies are all key ingredients to protecting the U.S. economy and consumers from counterfeit products,” said Edward Ryan, Assistant Director of Trade for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “We are looking forward to conducting follow-up MIPET operations with our partners to further protect legitimate businesses and consumers from intellectual property thieves.”
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive IPR enforcement program. CBP targets and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods, and enforces exclusion orders on patent-infringing and other IPR goods.
If you have information about counterfeit merchandise being illegally imported into the United States, CBP encourages you to submit an E-Allegation. The e-Allegation provides a means for the public to anonymously report to CBP any suspected violations of trade laws or regulations related to the importation of goods into the U.S.
These types of violations include misclassification of merchandise, false country of origin markings, health and safety issues, valuation issues, and intellectual property rights. To submit your trade allegation, please visit E-Allegation.
