CHICAGO–At the Chicago Express Consignment Carrier Facility Gateway Hub, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers held a package from Hong Kong for inspection. When officers examined the package they discovered 450 Apple iPhone cases. 
This shipment was manifested as Mobile Phone Shell and was destined for Joliet. CBP inspected the parcel related to the admissibility of its contents in accordance with agency procedures. When the shipment was opened officers found the Apple iPhone cases. The cases seized were 100 11 Pro , 100 11 Pro Max and 250 8 Plus.
The items were deemed counterfeit based on the poor quality and design, the quality of materials, packaging and the printing was not consistent with the quality of legal printed products from the manufacturer. If the iPhone cases were real, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price would have been $17,550.
“Our CBP officers are at the forefront of protecting the U.S. economy and protecting U.S. consumers from counterfeit goods,” said Shane Campbell, Area Port Director, Chicago. “Fake items like these cases cost the U.S jobs and lost revenue for U.S. companies.. On top of those counterfeits, we’re also seizing other items like narcotics, illegal prescriptions, firearms and the list goes on. Our officers do a tremendous job and they are excellent at what they do.”
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.
On a typical day in 2019, CBP officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with Intellectual Property Rights violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2019.
CBP officers and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents seized 27,599 shipments containing counterfeit goods in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, down from 33,810 seizures in FY 2018. However, the total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, had they been genuine, increased to over $1.5 billion from nearly $1.4 billion in FY 2018.
E- Commerce sales have contributed to large volumes of low-value packages imported into the United States. In FY 2019, there were 144 million express shipments and 463 million international mail shipments. Over 90 percent of all intellectual property seizures occur in the international mail and express environments.
The People’s Republic of China (mainland China and Hong Kong) remained the primary source economy for seized counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for 83 percent of all IPR seizures and 92 percent of the estimated MSRP value of all IPR seizures.
Read CBP’s Intellectual Property Seizure Report for Fiscal Year 2019 for more IPR stats and analysis.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.