More Than $2 Million Worth Of Fake Designer Clothes Seized At Port Of Virginia

Customs agents seized more than a 1,100 counterfeit designer dresses and shawls worth an estimated $2.3 million, authorities said.

Some of the more than 1,100 pieces of counterfeit items U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized at the Port of Norfolk last month.
Photo Credit: *U.S. Customs and Border Protection*

Josh Lanier

05/17/2022 2:56 p.m.

Officers at the Port of Virginia uncovered the massive haul of fake goods in April during a search of a shipment bound for Cincinnati, Ohio, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.

The haul included fake Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Apple items, CBP reports. Officers said they were alerted to the fakes because of their poor quality.

"CBP is charged with enforcing trade laws, and we continue to devote substantial resources to target, intercept, detain, seize and forfeit shipments of goods that violate these laws," said Mark J Laria, CBP Area Port Director in Norfolk.

Customs and Border Protection officials say people put themselves at risk by purchasing cheap and inferior knock-offs. They're not checked for safety and can be made with hazardous materials.

Though the rise of online vendors has boosted the counterfeit clothing market to more than $500 billion annually, reports say.

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