ICE Seizes $32 Million in Fake ‘Viagra Pills,’ ‘Car Emblems,’ Other Goods Arriving from China

U.S. customs authorities recently seized more than $32 million worth of counterfeit goods from China, including “Viagra pills, footwear, belts, car emblems, and headphones,” at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed on Thursday.

“The counterfeit items included more than one million erectile dysfunction pills, footwear, belts, purses and headphones in violation of registered and recorded trademarks. If genuine, the seized merchandise would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $32,161,194.00,” the department said in a press release.

Authorities seized the counterfeit goods as they arrived at the port “in three containerized cargo shipments from China.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Commercial Crimes Division, Illicit Pharmaceutical and Counterfeit Unit (IPCU) assisted ICE during the seizure.

“Commercial piracy and product counterfeiting undermine the U.S. economy, rob Americans of jobs, stifle American innovation and promote other types of crimes,” David A. Prince, the Special Agent in Charge for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, said according to the press release.

“Intellectual property theft amounts to economic sabotage, which is why HSI will aggressively pursue product counterfeiters and those who sell counterfeit products,” he added.

“Criminals are exploiting e-commerce platforms to sell counterfeit and often dangerous goods to unwitting holiday shoppers,” CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles Carlos C. Martel said.

“CBP’s strategic partnership with HSI and LAPD’s IPCU is critical in disrupting the transnational criminal organizations behind these smuggling operations,” he affirmed.

The CBP seizes millions of counterfeit products from countries around the world each year, including “fake versions of popular products, such as smartphones and related accessories, electronics, apparel, shoes, cosmetics and high-end luxury goods, as well as goods posing significant health and safety concerns, such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals, bicycle and motorcycle helmets, medical devices, supplements and other consumables,” according to ICE.

“Sold online and in stores, counterfeit goods hurt the U.S. economy, cost Americans their jobs, threaten consumer health and safety, and fund criminal activity,” the department warned on Thursday.

“Counterfeiters are focused on making a profit; they are not focused on consumer safety,” Donald R. Kusser, the CBP Port Director of the LA/Long Beach Seaport, said. “Buying counterfeit goods can expose you and your family to health and safety risks while the proceeds support criminal enterprises.”

CBP seized 26,503 shipments containing goods that violated intellectual property rights nationwide in 2020. Had the goods been genuine, they would have been worth an estimated $1.3 billion.