HARRISBURG, Pa. — Just weeks after seizing more than $600,000 worth of counterfeit Pokemon action figures in Harrisburg, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers made an even bigger haul late last month, the agency said Monday in a press release.
The seizure, over an eight-day period from May 18-26, netted more than 120,000 counterfeit Pokemon figures worth an estimated $840,000, CBP said.
The 20 boxes of fake Pokemon figures came in three shipments from Hong Kong, CBP said.
Officers inspected the shipments and observed 120,480 small Pokemon action figures. CBP confirmed with the trademark holder that the figurines were counterfeit and seized the cache on Wednesday.
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The shipments were destined to an address in Snyder County, CBP said.
The figurines are small and pose a potential choking hazard to children. Additionally, counterfeit toys tend to be coated in excessive levels of lead paint, CBP said. No lead testing was conducted on these toys.
“The Pokemon slogan is ‘Gotta catch ‘em all’’ and Customs and Border Protection officers are trying to do just that to these counterfeit and potentially dangerous toys,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “CBP officers remain steadfast in our commitment to intercepting counterfeit products, especially those products that could seriously harm American consumers.”
On May 13, CBP officers seized the previous shipment of 86,400 Pokemon action figures. If authentic, those figurines would have had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $600,000.
