CBP Seizes Thousands of Counterfeit Jeep Toys, Barbie Dolls

December 03, 2009: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at San Diego area ports of entry in recent weeks have seized thousands of fake toys worth more than $1.6 million entering the U.S. in commercial shipments. CBP is charged with enforcing trade laws and devotes substantial resources to target, intercept, detain, seize and forfeit shipments of goods that violate these laws.

On November 16, CBP officers at the sea port of San Diego inspected a shipment manifested as assorted toys and found counterfeit Barbie dolls in 25 of the 350 boxes on the manifest. CBP seized 600 dolls with a domestic value of $2,975 and a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $23,994. The confiscated dolls were of poor quality and lacked license information.

The seizure followed an earlier discovery on October 21 when seaport-based CBP officers encountered a container also manifested as assorted toys. Officers offloaded the container and discovered 20 of 463 boxes contained counterfeit Barbie dolls. The 20 boxes contained a total of 1,920 counterfeit Barbie dolls that were of poor quality and lacked license information. The seized dolls have a domestic value of $2,723 and an MSRP of $34,502.

On October 29, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry found discrepancies as they inspected four cargo containers manifested as “toys” entering the U.S. from Mexico.

In each container, officers found 262 battery-operated vehicles designed for children to ride in and operate. The Jeep trademark, which had been recorded with CBP, was found on the counterfeit goods, leading to their seizure.


The next day, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa facility inspected an additional eight containers manifested specifically as “Jeep Toys.” The containers, each of which also held 262 toys, were seized.

The 3,100 seized Jeep toys have a domestic value of over $554,000 and a MSRP totaling $1,571,964 and the 2,520 counterfeit Barbie dolls have an MSRP of $58,496.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s mission includes protecting the intellectual property rights of legitimate businesses,” said Rosa Hernandez, port director at the Otay Mesa cargo facility.

CBP officers and import specialists aggressively work together to intercept shipments containing counterfeit and pirated items. In fiscal year 2008, CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement together seized more than $272.7 million worth of counterfeit items nationwide.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.