NEWARK, N.J. – These toys were definitely not the “real ones,” as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of New York/Newark recently discovered.
A total of 141,112 UNO card games, 9,600 LOL Surprise! Under Wraps balls, and 1,980 LOL Surprise! Under Wraps capsule toys were seized. If authentic, these toys would have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of approximately $1,300,000.
CBP officers inspected the shipment in late November after it arrived from China. Officers then submitted digital images of the toys to CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center for Excellence and Expertise (CEE), the agency’s trade experts. CBP’s CEE specialists worked with the trademark holders and determined the toys to be counterfeit.
CBP completed the seizure on December 9. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Newark, NJ, continue to investigate.
“Once again, Customs and Border Protection has demonstrated its commitment to protecting the American consumer against the proliferation of substandard and potentially unsafe counterfeit consumer goods,” said Troy Miller, Director of CBP’s New York Field Office. “Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights laws is a CBP priority trade mission. We will continue to work closely with our trade and law enforcement partners to identify and seize counterfeit merchandise that could potentially harm our Nation’s consumers and businesses.”
The manufacture and sale of counterfeit goods rob legitimate businesses of revenue, deprive American workers of jobs, and pose health and safety threats to U.S. consumers. Oftentimes, the proceeds from counterfeit merchandise sales support other nefarious and illicit businesses.
CBP protects consumers and businesses every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. On a typical day in 2019, CBP officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with IPR violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2019.
If you have information concerning counterfeit merchandise illegally imported into the U.S., CBP encourages you to submit an anonymous report through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System.
CBP personnel inspect travelers and cargo entering and departing the country, focusing on the interception of illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, counterfeit consumer goods, and other products to assure that global tourism and trade remains safe and strong. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.
Learn more about CBP at CBP.gov.
--CBP--
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 U.S. borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.