CBP sting nets fake toys at Ariz. Checkpoint
Twenty-three shipping containers of Chinese-made fake toys with a retail value of more than $1.1 million have been seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Luis, Ariz., port of entry, the agency said Wednesday.
Brian Levin, a spokesman in the Tucson field office, said the imitation toys had been tracked from China to the Port of Long Beach, Calif., where they traveled in-bond for export to Mexico via the land port of San Luis, Ariz.
The ultimate retail destination for the goods was not known, CBP officials said, but the fake toys were being handled by an unnamed American distributor that remains under federal investigation.
The counterfeit goods are in CBP custody while the agency works with the legitimate trademark holders, such as toy maker Mattel. The CBP said the trademark owners would likely opt to destroy the merchandise.
The seizures are the result of an ongoing enforcement blitz at the San Luis, Nogales and Phoenix ports of entry, Levin said. So far all the seizures since Oct. 1 have occurred at San Luis. CBP officers are inspecting both inbound and export shipments.
More than 200,000 knock-off Barbie, Belinda and Bratz, and Winnie the Pooh dolls, Legos and items with U.S. Olympic Committee logos are estimated to have been confiscated to date.
CBP sting nets fake toys at Ariz. Checkpoint
