Customs and Border Protection Seized 36,000 Fake AirPods

Customs and Border Protection officers of the US have seized 36,000 headphones that resembled Apple AirPods in Ohio. The value of the headphones was declared to be $5,280; however, they could have been sold for $7.16 million if they were genuine AirPods.

Customs and Border Protection said that the officials in Cincinnati found that the headphones, which arrived in three shipments from China, violated trademark and copyright codes. Production of fake AirPods has violated trademarks that protected Apple configuration.

Richard Gillespie, Cincinnati Port Director said that Counterfeit products can be deceiving at first glance. These products are cheaper and can appear very similar to the real thing. However, inferior products can end up costing consumers more than if they purchased the genuine item because of the high likelihood of substandard materials and malfunctioning parts.

The headphones, inspected by the Customs and Border Protection on May 6 said that these products arrived in boxes labeled as Elite Pods, and included headphones and a case that looked similar to real AirPods. The three shipments were headed toward Dayton, Kentucky, and were seized on May 11 and 13, the release said.

Gillespie said that supporting legitimate businesses is the smart choice, and buying from trusted companies protects against potential human rights violations and damage to our economy. The popularity of Apple’s products makes it a big target for false goods. One UK firm was fined $147,000 for selling fake Apple chargers, uncovered in an October 2018 raid following a seized shipment of the product.A dedicated anti-counterfeit team works within Apple, tasked with the removal of knock-off Apple products. The team managed to bring down more than a million product listings for fake Apple goods.