CBP Officers Seize Nearly 4,000 Counterfeit Hermès Belts In LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers announced the seizure of nearly 4,000 counterfeit Hermès belts at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport on Thursday.
According to CBP officers, 3,960 high-fashion belts were found hidden inside of "plastic besoms" within a shipment that was being delivered from China on June 18.
Authorities said the back of each belt was stamped with a counterfeit Hermès trademark, which was also engraved on the back of each buckle.
The counterfeit stamp was also found on the lids of the merchandise boxes.
"Counterfeit products are increasingly of a higher quality making consumers easily deceived by fakes that look and feel real," said Carlos Martel, CBP Port Director of the L.A./Long Beach seaport complex. "The flood of counterfeit products not only creates an enormous drain on the U.S. economy, but funds transnational criminal enterprises."
CBP officers explained counterfeit fashion goods that have been recently manufactured appear more convincing copies of the actual products.
If the merchandise had been genuine, officials estimated the suggested retail price for the shipment would have been $3,227,400.
In 2014, around $1.22 billion worth of counterfeit goods originating overseas were seized by CBP officers. China, Hong Kong, Canada, India and United Arab Emirates were the top originating offenders, officials said.