$1.8m in fake designer goods, medicines seized at LAX

Customs officers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) cargo operations discovered 3,524 counterfeit designer products, shipped alongside thousands of fake medicines.

The knock-offs – which were discovered in a shipment arriving via express air cargo from Hong Kong – infringed trademarks held by YSL, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Versace, Gucci, Fendi, Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Cartier, Rolex, Dior, Pandora, Casio, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co, Burberry and Christian Louboutine.

The seized items were in 99 boxes manifested as “Ladies Tops Storage Bag Empty” and included handbags, shoes, watches, sunglasses, T-shirts, purses, sandals, gym bags, dresses, belts and ball caps, as well as 2,160 pills of erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil and 4,500 pills of ranitidine hydrochloride, used to treat heartburn.

If genuine, the seized merchandise would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1.8m.