On Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that a July investigation apprehended six shipments of counterfeit Apple products entering the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Complex and Ontario International Airport.
Overall, the six seized shipments included 1,200 pairs of counterfeit AirPods and 220 counterfeit Apple Watches. The same amount of genuine products would have been worth $396,812.
“Because they look and feel incredibly similar to legitimate Apple products, consumers are easily deceived by scammers,” Carlos C. Martel, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, said in a statement. “Intercepting fraudulent import products is a top priority for CBP, we protect consumers and the economy every single day.”
This operation was conducted with the help of import specialists at the Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise.
All six shipments were discovered within the same week in mid-July.
The counterfeit goods were inside generic packages in an attempt to conceal their appearance and pass them off as generic devices.
In fiscal year 2022, CBP confiscated nearly 21,000 shipments containing around 25 million individual counterfeit items, with an estimated total retail value of nearly $3 billion if the products had been genuine. Consumer electronics accounted for approximately 3.7% of overall seizures.
“While it may seem innocent, the money you spend on counterfeit products often funds criminal activity, from forced labor, human and drug trafficking, to violent crime,” said Donald R. Kusser, CBP Port Director of the LA/LB Seaport.
As part of their commitment to consumer education, CBP has launched an awareness campaign, both at U.S. airports and online, to enlighten the public about the inherent risks and consequences tied to purchasing counterfeit and pirated goods.
Interested individuals can access more information about the “Truth Behind Counterfeits” initiative by visiting www.cbp.gov/fakegoodsrealdangers.