CBP Seizes $1.2 million in Counterfeit Handbags at Port of Miami

Miami — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Miami recently seized a shipment of counterfeit designer handbags with a total retail value of nearly $1.2 million.

The case began when CBP officers from the Miami Field Office examined a shipment of more than 1,600 handbags. Samples of the cargo were turned over a CBP commodity specialist team which examined items for possible infringement of intellectual property rights. The commodity team determined that the handbags were counterfeit and infringed upon the copyrights held by companies such as Chloe, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana.

This case is one of more than 66 seizures worth a total of more than $5,304,616.68 that officers and employees of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Miami have made since October 1, 2010.

“CBP officers and employees assigned to the Miami Field Office work tirelessly to protect American consumers by intercepting shipments containing counterfeit and pirated items,” said the Miami Field Office director of Field Operations Vernon Foret. “ By enforcing the trade laws of the United States, we keep inferior and, in some cases, potentially dangerous products from entering the legitimate marketplace.”

Stopping the flow of counterfeit and dangerous consumer products is a priority mission for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importation of fake merchandise can cause significant revenue loss and damage to the U.S. economy.

For more information on intellectual property rights issues, visit the Customs and Border Protection website.

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.