LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville customs agents at UPS Worldport continue to rid the area of counterfeit items.
Monday evening, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a shipment of 1,421 pairs of designer earrings valued at $899,500, according to a news release. The earrings arrived from Thailand and were headed to Fullerton, California.
“Our officers and import specialists have done an excellent job targeting shipments and identifying counterfeit items,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of Field Operations at the Chicago Field Office, said in a news release. “CBP protects businesses and consumers every day with an aggressive intellectual property rights enforcement program.”
Last year, more than 24.5 million counterfeit items such as smartphones, electronics, shoes and cosmetics were seized nationwide, valued close to $3 billion if authentic. Authorities say these counterfeit goods hurt the U.S. economy, threaten jobs and consumer health and safety, and fuel criminal activity.
“Intellectual property theft threatens America’s economic vitality and funds criminal activities and organized crime,” Louisville Port Director Thomas Mahn said. “Our officers are dedicated to protecting private industry and consumers by removing these kinds of shipments from our commerce.”
The CBP urges anyone with information about counterfeit items illegally imported into the U.S. to submit an online allegation.
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