Minneapolis customs officials seize $41,500 of counterfeit smartphone accessories

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - U.S. border officials say they confiscated more than $41,500 worth of counterfeit phone accessories from Hong Kong bound for a Minnesota recipient.

In a release Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the fake Apple and Samsung accessories were flagged by customs officials due to poor quality and incorrect packaging. CBP officials in Minneapolis inspected the shipment and found the items to be fake.

The items were labeled as Samsung phone cases, iPhone phone cases and iPhone adapters. If the merchandise was real, the total MSRP value would be $41,500.

“Substandard and illegal products harm the U.S. economy and the health and safety of consumers, in particular, the adapters can be exceptionally dangerous,” said Augustine Moore, Area Port Director-Minneapolis. “Once again our CBP officers at the Port of Minnesota have demonstrated their exceptional skill and superior commodity expertise.”

The CBP says intellectual property rights protection is a priority of the department. It says its agents have seized 27,599 shipments valued at more than $1.5 billion in 2019. Most of those shipments are watches and jewelry, about 15 percent.