Nearly $5.5 Million In Counterfeit Sleepwear Seized In LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Thousands of counterfeit sleepwear items valued at almost $5.5 million were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers last month after they arrived at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport.
16,340 counterfeit Gucci, Facebook and Instagram sleeping dresses were seized by CBP officers on June 12 after they arrived in a shipment from China.
The items were found hidden between "generic sleeping dresses" in 189 of 329 bales of clothing.
If real, the merchandise would have carried a retail value of $5.45 million, CBP reports.
"Available on illegitimate websites and sold in underground outlets, counterfeit commodities multiply the illegal profits of smugglers and traffickers," CBP said in a news release. "Consumers are tricked into believing they are buying an original product at a significant discount."