U.S., French border agencies intercept fake healthcare products

Over half a million dollars worth of counterfeit personal care products were seized during the month-long joint operation.    More than 31,000 counterfeit personal care products and electric personal care devices in 76 shipments were seized by U.S. and French customs authorities in a month-long joint operation that began in early April, officials announced this week.
   The combined retail value of the fake goods is $541,000.
   Products seized during “Operation Bathe and Beute” included make-up, condoms, hair removal devices, contact lenses, hair curlers, straighteners and skin cleansing devices. Officials warned that fake beauty products can often be harmful to consumers, in addition to cheating legitimate manufacturers of their rightful sales.
   This coordinated enforcement action is the fourth joint operation between Customs and Border Protection and its French counterpart in the area of intellectual property rights violations in less than two years.
   The agencies said they shared trend analysis and information generated from the seizures to help each other catch more contraband. The information is used to improve targeting of suspected air and ocean shipments, detect transshipment of counterfeit products, and identify networks and common shipping methods for the fake products.