PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized 22,000 counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers that were shipped from Israel to an address in Philadelphia. The fake inspection stickers were assessed at $1,404,700, had they been authentic.
There were no arrests.
CBP officers encountered the fake inspection stickers in two separate shipments – 10,000 in a parcel that arrived on November 26, and 12,000 that arrived in a parcel on December 9. CBP officers suspected the inspection stickers to be fraudulent and detained both shipments.
Pennsylvania authorities confirmed that the vehicle inspection stickers were counterfeit, and CBP officers seized the stickers on December 16.
Pennsylvania law requires that motor vehicles be inspected annually to ensure compliance with minimum motor vehicle mechanical, safety, and emissions standards. Vehicle owners who know that their vehicle would require costly repairs to pass inspection may resort to purchasing a counterfeit inspection sticker at a discount, but if they are caught, face a penalty of up to $500 and potential jail time.
“Unscrupulous actors peddling fraudulent vehicle inspection stickers create a very serious public safety concern. Fake inspection stickers mask unsafe motor vehicles that place all motorists on our roadways in harm,” said Cleatus P. Hunt, Jr., CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. “Customs and Border Protection officers will continue to seize illicit and illegal products that could be harmful to consumers and the public when we encounter them.”
CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
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