Counterfeit Island: Federal agents in Galveston uncover almost $3 million in fake luxury goods

Bad news for bargain hunters and label-conscious kids. Counterfeit peddlers are mourning the loss of nearly $2.7 million in fake merchandise after federal agents seized a massive shipment of illegal goods at the Port of Galveston last week.

Officers confiscated more than 18,000 wallets, hats, purses, hair clips and even dog collars that bore protected Burberry and Disney trademarks.

The goods, which originated in China, were discovered during a standard examination by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which quickly coordinated with trademark specialists at the agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters to prove the illegitimacy of the merchandise.

"We always want to make sure we're not holding up any legal shipments during these searches," Yolanda Choates, CBP public affairs specialist for Houston, tells CultureMap. "But that was not the case here. These were clearly counterfeit." 

News of the Galveston bust comes only a week after KTRK reported on a t-shirt counterfeiting ring in Houston's notorious knock-off district along Harwin Drive. According to the story, local and federal investigators have arrested 64 people in Houston since April 2010, seizing more than $21.3 million worth of counterfeits.