STERLING, Va. — Apple products are popular, and so that explains why U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers would encounter nearly $290,000 in AirPods and Apple Watch knockoffs recently shipped from China in air cargo imports to Washington Dulles International Airport.
CBP officers inspected four Fairfax County, Va.-bound shipments, which collectively consisted of 1,000 Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and 50 Apple Watches, on March 15. Officers suspected that the products may be counterfeit and detained them for further investigation.
CBP officers submitted documentation and photographs on March 16 to CBP’s trade experts at the Machinery Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE). On March 21, the CEE experts verified the Apple products as counterfeits and appraised the products at $289,550 manufacturer’s suggested retail price, had they been genuine.
CBP officers seized the counterfeit Apple products on March 29. No one has been criminally charged.
During fiscal year 2022, CBP officers and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents seized nearly 21,000 shipments containing goods that violated IPR, which equates to nearly 25 million counterfeit goods. The total estimated MSRP of the seized goods, had they been genuine, was over $2.98 billion (USD), or an average of over $8 million every day.
Additionally, HSI special agents arrested 255 individuals in 2022, obtained 192 indictments, and received 95 convictions related to intellectual property crimes. To learn more at HSI’s role in combatting counterfeiting, visit the National IPR Coordination Center.
