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MIAMI, FL — U.S. customs officers and import specialists in Miami have seized an estimated $1.7 million in counterfeit perfume from a Chinese cargo shipment that could have otherwise ended up as Mother’s Day gifts.
“The source of the goods and the way the product was labeled didn’t make any scents,” quipped Zachary Mann of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Miami.
Mann said the shipment at PortMiami included more than 60,000 bottles of imported perfume in 1,440 cartons.
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The perfume’s packaging flagrantly violated the trademarks of Christian Dior and Chanel, according to Mann. In the case of Chanel, some of the counterfeit goods were labeled as “NO. 1.”
“Importing products that violate one’s intellectual property rights and the trade in fake goods threaten America’s economic vitality and national security, and the American people’s health and safety,” said Jorge L. Roig, CBP port director in Miami.
Despite similarities in the packaging and bottles, the counterfeit perfume is not the same and might have even been harmful to users.
“The timing is close to Mother’s Day,” Mann said. “There’s no way to know for sure that the product quality and what the chemicals that are being used to make it are, in fact, safe and standardized because it is a counterfeit product.”
He said chemicals could be absorbed into the skin. “There is the potential risk that it could cause harm such as a rash or some type of a reaction,” he said. “This is part of the reason that we protect these trademarks and copyrights, because the items have gone through vigorous testing and quality controls to ensure consistency in the product.”
He said counterfeit products are often sold online, in flea markets and at smaller stores that might not be authorized to sell genuine products.
The agency seized more than $48 million in pharmaceuticals and personal care products last year with an estimated street value of $ 1.5 billion. The most common ports of origin included China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey and Canada.
The counterfeit perfume shipment in Miami was seized April 9.
“It’s not the largest counterfeit perfume seizure CBP as an agency has made,” Mann said, “but 60,000-plus bottles is significant.”