EL PASO, Texas — Special agents with
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI) Sunday seized nearly 20,000 counterfeit items with a
manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) worth of nearly $900,000 at the
local Fox Plaza flea market.
The enforcement operation was part of
the continuing efforts of HSI's Commercial Fraud Group, and the Southwest
Border Financial Operations and Currency United Strike Force (FOCUS) to track
down individuals who sell counterfeit and pirated products.
It took HSI special agents a few days to
count the following seized items and identify the MSRP:
• 8,911
DVDs with an MSRP of: $122,210.72
• 10,669
CDs with an MSRP of: $128,454.76
• 1,728
items, including handbags, NFL merchandise and NIKE-brand sneakers with an MSRP
of: $648,409.15
A total of 21,308 items were seized with
an MSRP of $899,074.63.
The following Border Enforcement Task
Force (BEST) members also participated in the operation: U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP), the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission, and the El
Paso Sheriff's Department. Trademark representatives were on site to
authenticate merchandise. Representatives of the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) also
assisted.
"Counterfeiting is a significant
problem that affects our economy, impacts American jobs, and puts the public's
health and safety at risk," said Dennis A. Ulrich, special agent in charge
for HSI El Paso. "Consumers who buy pirated products may also be funding
criminal organizations with their purchases."
As the largest investigative arm of the
Department of Homeland Security, HSI plays a leading role in targeting criminal
organizations responsible for producing, smuggling and distributing counterfeit
products. HSI focuses not only on keeping counterfeit products off our streets,
but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind such illicit
activity.
Operations such as the one conducted at
the Fox Plaza Flea Market are coordinated through the HSI-led National
Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington.
The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against
criminal counterfeiting and piracy. As a task force, the IPR Center uses the
expertise of its 20 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives,
coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to IP theft.
Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the
public's health and safety, the U.S. economy and the war fighters.
To report IP theft or to learn more
about the HSI-led IPR Center, visit IPRCenter.gov.
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