STERLING, Va. — Thousands of Apple product knockoffs worth nearly $290,000 shipped from China were seized at Washington Dulles International Airport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected four shipments to an address in Fairfax County, Virginia, on March 15. The shipments had 1,000 Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and 50 Apple Watches.
CBP officers suspected that the products were counterfeit and detained them for further investigation, according to a release from U.S. CBP.
Trade experts at the Machinery Centers of Excellence and Expertise viewed photos and submitted documents by CBP officers on March 16.
Five days later, on March 21, CEE experts determined the Apple products were counterfeit and had a total retail value of $289,550 if they had been real.
“Unscrupulous manufacturers and vendors illegally profit on the sale of substandard counterfeit products at the expense and safety of American consumers,” said Christine Waugh, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.
Officers seized the counterfeit Apple products on March 29. So far, no one has been criminally charged in this case.