Dog collars? really?
Counterfeit Island: Federal agents in Galveston uncover almost $3 million infake luxury goods
Fake luxury goods including knock-off Burberry accessories were seized inGalveston last week.
In 2011, agents across the country confiscated 25,000 shipments of illegallytrademarked goods — a street value totaling almost $180 million.Photo by Peter Barnes
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.
In 2011, agents across the country confiscated 25,000 shipments of illegally trademarked goods — a street value totaling almost $180 million, a 24 percent rise in seizures over 2010.
Consumer electronics like fake iPhones and iPads as well as phony shoes by brands like Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin top the list of favorite fakes according to a recent report by CNNMoney. "We tend to see a lot of sunglasses with all types of different trademarks coming into Houston," Choates says. "Perfumes too."
"You'd be surprised, though, we seize a lot of Disney items — especially when a new movie or re-release comes out."
Those dog collars? They weren't covered in a faux Burberry tartan, but rather illegally-used images from Lady and the Tramp, which was just released on limited-edition Blu-ray DVD on Feb. 7.
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky