Counterfeit Roku remotes, Apple AirPods seized by customs officials

Pittsburgh Customs and Border Protection officers on Sunday confiscated more than 4,000 counterfeit items mimicking Roku remotes and Apple AirPods that, if authentic, would be worth almost $112,000, officials said.

Officers seized over 4,700 streaming system remote controllers — 4,212 fake Roku remotes and 500 fake Hisense remotes — along with 120 items resembling AirPods and lightning charging cables. The items arrived from Hong Kong in nine shipments between April 27 and May 4 and were destined for addresses in Butler County.

Officers, suspecting the items were counterfeit, worked with trademark holders to determine they were fake.

“Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of businesses while protecting consumers against potentially harmful counterfeit products,” Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore, said in a news release. “Consumers should be aware that counterfeit goods pose a health and safety threat and should protect their families by purchasing safe, authentic goods from reputable vendors.”

This is the second seizure of counterfeit Roku remotes in two months, officials said. In April, 1,600 fake products were seized, worth about $80,000.

On a typical day last year, officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with Intellectual Property Rights violations, officials said. Almost 27,600 shipments containing counterfeit goods were seized last year, down from 33,810 seizures in 2018.

Still, the total retail price, if authentic, would have increased to $1.5 billion in 2019 compared to $1.4 billion in 2018.

According to the CBP, the importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause revenue loss, damage to the economy and threaten the health and safety of American people.