Customs agents seize counterfeit vaping pods

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Philadelphia seized an international parcel destined for Newark, DE that contained more than 1,152 counterfeit Juul pods, three chargers and a Juul device in Philadelphia early this month. The pods are used in vaping.

Philadelphia CBP officers seized this cache of counterfeit Juul products.
Philadelphia CBP officers seized this cache
of counterfeit Juul products.

CBP officers inspected the parcel April 1. The parcel, which arrived from China, was manifested as “plastic pipe sample.”

The parcel instead contained 36 cartons of Juul pods that was destined to an address in Newark.

Working with CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Centers for Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts, officers verified the merchandise as counterfeits through the trademark holders. 

If authentic, the merchandise would have a Manufacturer’s  Suggested Retail Price  of nearly $4,700.

Counterfeit products are often manufactured in unregulated facilities and with substandard materials, a customs release stated.

 Counterfeit products that are inhaled or ingested pose even greater danger to consumers because there is no way to verify the authenticity or the safety of the product’s ingredients.

On a typical day in 2018, CBP officers seized $3.7 million worth of products with patent or related violations.