CBP Houston announces seizure of counterfeit Apple phone chargers worth over $7 million

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Area Port of Houston/Galveston today announced the seizure of 373,000 counterfeit USB phone chargers (lightning cables) with an appraised MSRP of just over $7 million. 7,460 cartons containing the phone charges bore the “Apple” trademark, and was confirmed to be counterfeit by both CBP and Apple representatives. CBP’s Houston Seaport Trade Enforcement Team made the discovery.

“Criminal networks are using e-Commerce to ship their items to unsuspecting consumers and exploit the high volume of cargo processed by CBP,” said CBP Acting Area Port Director John Landry. “Counterfeit activities negatively impact American legitimate jobs and counterfeiters don’t pay taxes. They hurt innovation by stealing intellectual property from registered trademarks and the counterfeits are often produced under unsanitary labor exploitation conditions. Consumers deserve the real deal when spending their hard-earned money on these products.”

Intellectual Property Rights protection is a top priority for CBP. We commit substantial resources in identifying and seizing counterfeit products at our local ports. Highly trained teams of CBP officers and import specialists regularly conduct ongoing operations to intercept and disrupt counterfeit merchandise smuggling operations. CBP enforces over 400 laws for 40 U.S. agencies and is committed to protecting consumers and enforcing U.S. trade laws. CBP partners with HSI to combat the trafficking of counterfeits and deliver consequences to criminal organizations, denying bad actors to benefit from this illicit activity.

Counterfeiting is stealing, period, and it is illegal to purchase counterfeit goods. Bringing them into the United States may result in civil or criminal penalties and purchasing counterfeit goods often supports criminal activities, such as forced labor or human trafficking.

Consumers are reminded to only buy from legitimate sources and pay attention on how much you are paying. If it is too good to be true it probably is!

For the last three years, the top commodities seized for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringement with the highest total MSRP have been (1) Jewelry, (2) Watches, and (3) Handbags/Wallets. Additionally, China and Hong Kong are consistently the top two source countries for IPR seizures. In Fiscal Year 2024, seizures from China and Hong Kong accounted for approximately 90% of the total quantity seized.

There are many ways consumers can protect themselves from spending their money on fakes:

• Purchase goods directly from the trademark holder or from authorized retailers.
• Know the market value of the item you are purchasing. If the item is priced well below what it should be, it could be counterfeit. If a price seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
• Look for legitimate web sites that offer customer service contact information and return policies.
• Review CBP’s E-Commerce Counterfeit Awareness Guide for Consumers.

Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens America’s innovation economy, the competitiveness of our businesses, the livelihoods of U.S. workers, and, in some cases, national security and the health and safety of consumers. To combat the entry of counterfeit and pirated goods into America, CBP targets and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods and enforces exclusion orders on patent-infringing and other IPR violative goods.

The dangers of buying counterfeit products aren’t always obvious to consumers. Particularly, when shopping online, beware of counterfeit goods. Fake goods can lead to real dangers. For more information, visit The Truth Behind Counterfeits page.