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(CNN) -
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials seized a container full of more than $ 30 million worth of fake designer bags and clothing at a port in Los Angeles, before the holiday season.
Agents found bags, shirts and pants bearing false logos from brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton on November 9 in the port of Los Angeles, according to the CPB in a statement published on December 2.
The container with 13,586 items had been shipped from China and would have had an illegal market selling price of US $ 30,437,775, the agency said.
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CBP said counterfeit products had historically been sold at clandestine outlets and on illegitimate websites.
"The rise of e-commerce offers a haven for criminals, who can now hide behind seemingly legitimate listings on well-known websites. The sale of counterfeit products multiplies the illegal profits of smugglers and traffickers, who reinvest the proceeds of those sales into other criminal companies, "he said in his statement.
The agency's director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, Carlos C. Martel, said "significant law enforcement resources" had been deployed to keep counterfeit products out of US supply chains.
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Donald R. Kusser, director of the Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach, said counterfeit products were often of poor quality and could be unsafe for consumers.
The container had 13,586 counterfeit items inside, CBP said.
"Bad actors take advantage of e-commerce operations by selling counterfeit and unsafe products through online platforms, especially during the holiday season when shoppers are looking for bargains," Kusser said in the statement.
"If the price of the product seems too good to be true, it is probably false."
In a late November statement, CBP said counterfeit products cost the world economy more than $ 500 billion a year.
"Counterfeit products are a year-round problem, but increasing demand for gifts, home products, e-learning tools, and even health products means the holiday season is an especially busy time for thieves who they seek to make a profit by selling knockoff products to unsuspecting consumers, "he warned.
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"This year, due to the global pandemic, the supply chain crisis and changes in shopping habits, millions of consumers are buying their Christmas gifts and other necessities online."
In its December statement, CBP said that in fiscal 2020, its staff seized 26,503 shipments containing an estimated $ 1.3 billion worth of counterfeit products, had they been authentic products.
CBP recommended that shoppers purchase directly from authorized brands or retailers, and read the reviews and check to see if the stores they buy from online have working phone numbers.
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