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  4. CBP continues to seize millions of illegal counterfeits in Puerto Rico

CBP continues to seize millions of illegal counterfeits in Puerto Rico

Release Date
Mon, 10/03/2016

Operation Silver Snake 2 nets 206 seizures worth $1.5 million

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—  US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations announced today that 206 seizures where made of counterfeit products, valued at $1.5 million (MSRP), which were illegally imported into Puerto Rico via international mail.

A wide range of counterfeited products were seized during the enforcement effort,

Seized items are catalouged for evidentiary purposes.
Seized items are cataloged for
evidentiary purposes. 

called Operation Silver Snake 2, to include: consumer products, apparel, footwear, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and more.

 Various international mail packages inspected by CBP officers at the San Juan International Mail Branch revealed products that infringed intellectual property rights.  The majority of the seized products originated in China.

This is the third iteration of the continuous operation carried out in San Juan this year by the Mobile Intellectual Property Enforcement Team (MIPET), with the support of CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), IPR-National Targeting & Analysis Group (NTAG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and United States Postal Inspection Service (USPS).

“Our dedicated CBP Officers, Import Specialists, Paralegal Specialists and Seized Property Specialists were key ingredients to this successful enforcement operation focused on the protection of the U.S. economy and the health and safety of the American people from these counterfeit products,” said Edward Ryan, Assistant Director of Trade for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “We will continue to execute this type of enforcement operations, with our partners, to further protect legitimate businesses and consumers from intellectual property thieves” said Ryan.

CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive IPR enforcement program.  CBP targets and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods, and enforces exclusion orders on patent-infringing and other IPR goods.

If you have information about counterfeit merchandise being illegally imported into the United States, CBP encourages you to submit an E-Allegation.  The e-Allegation provides a means for the public to anonymously report to CBP any suspected violations of trade laws or regulations related to the importation of goods into the U.S.

These types of violations include misclassification of merchandise, false country of origin markings, health and safety issues, valuation issues, and intellectual property rights. 

To submit your trade allegation, please visit en  e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021