CBP seizes counterfeit, ag shipments

CBP seizes counterfeit, ag shipments    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Miami on Oct. 23 seized 97 parcels of counterfeit sunglasses and reading glasses with a street value of $7.7 million.
   The glasses had trademarks for companies such as Chanel, Burberry, XOXO and Christian Dior. CBP placed the domestic value of the glasses at $388,000.
   CBP agricultural specialists at the Port of Baltimore forced an importer to destroy a shipment of bunny scarecrows from Hong Kong after the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that the bamboo stakes used in the product posed a threat to American agriculture, CBP announced Oct. 23.
   The scarecrow consists of a bunny wearing a jacket and striped trousers on top of a bamboo stake.
   Bamboo imports are regulated to prevent the entry of bamboo smut and other diseases. The pathogen attacks and kills young canes. Bamboo stakes are also known as a risk for wood borers and other insect pests.
   While inspecting a container of baskets and handicrafts on Sept. 29, CBP specialists discovered one box of sample bunny scarecrows affixed to bamboo stakes. The importer was given the choice of fumigating or re-exporting the product, but opted to destroy the shipment.
   The interdiction was part of CBP's Operation Basket Case, which targets shipments of baskets and handicrafts from China made with tree bark, which can house wood borers.