WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Wednesday they have seized more than $1.6 million worth of counterfeits, including bogus Gucci and Cartier products, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Customs officials based in San Juan snagged 10,000 counterfeit products at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. The seizures included an array of products, ranging from luxury jewelry to medical equipment and auto parts.
Several trademarks were infringed upon, according to officials, including Gucci, Cartier, Oakley, Mercedes, BMW, Apple and Samsung.
The seizures were part of a weeklong operation led by Customs’ Mobile Intellectual Property Enforcement Team in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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“Trade intelligence, joint targeting and combining inspectional resources from our partner agencies are all key ingredients to protecting the U.S. economy and consumers from counterfeit products,” said Edward Ryan, assistant director of trade for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “We are looking forward to conducting follow-up MIPET operations with our partners to further protect legitimate businesses and consumers from intellectual property thieves.”
Federal officials made 7,922 seizures of counterfeit apparel and accessories — making it the top commodity classification — valued at $113.6 million, in fiscal year 2014, according to the latest government data.
In total, Customs and ICE made more than 23,000 seizures of counterfeit products worth an estimated $1.2 billion in that fiscal year.
The apparel and accessories segment includes clothing as well as hats and belts. In categories that are broken out separately, officials confiscated $375.3 million worth of counterfeit watches and jewelry in the year. Officials also seized $342 million worth of fake handbags and wallets. Seizures of bogus footwear were valued at $49.5 million.
China continued to be the number-one source of counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for 63 percent, or $772 million of the value seized. Hong Kong ranked second with $310 million or 25 percent.