Border Patrol agents seized $16 million in fake goods. | Wikimedia Commons
Border Patrol agents seized $16 million in fake goods. | Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, working off information from the Gwinnett County Police Department, seized counterfeit luxury goods worth an estimated $16 million.
"The Gwinnett Police Special Investigation Section Vice Unit seized over 9,000 counterfeit items valued at over $16,000,000 MSRP from a business named Real Moda with the assistance of CBP in Memphis, TN and (HSI)," the Gwinnett County police said on Twitter.
CBP officers, responding to tips from Gwinnett County police, initially seized two shipments of counterfeit goods traveling from Mexico to a house in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on Sept. 28, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
The shipments of illegal goods contained a variety of fake luxury items such as knockoff Louis Vuitton totes and purses, Rolex watches, and designer sunglasses. Had the items been priced as though they were authentic, the shipments alone would have been worth $1,066,207, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
The discovery led Gwinnett County investigators to a couple's illegitimate business with an illegal inventory worth $15,896,061, assuming the manufacturer's suggest retail price, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
The fake items were turned over to the Department of Homeland Security, who are continuing to work with the Gwinnett County police, for investigation, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
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