Crime & Safety
85 Fake Guitars Seized At Washington Dulles Airport: Report
For the second time this year, customs officials at Washington Dulles International Airport seized fake guitars in a shipment from China.
DULLES, VA — For the second time this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport seized a shipment of counterfeit guitars worth thousands of dollars, according to a CBP release.
On March 31, CBP officers detained a shipment from China containing 85 guitars suspected of being counterfeit. If authentic, the guitars would've fetched an estimated $260,000.
The majority of the shipment contained 72 Gibson models, with the remainder being CF Martin, Fender, Kramer, and Taylor guitars. The guitar with the highest estimated value was a Les Paul ax, which was allegedly signed by Guns and Roses guitarist Slash and was said to be worth $8,000. If the 86 guitars were authentic, they would have a total estimated value of $258,707.
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Officers consulted with CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising experts at the agency’s Centers for Excellence and Expertise. Working with trademark holders, they confirmed on May 28 that the guitars indeed violated the guitar manufacturers’ trademark protections. Officers completed the seizure on June 9.
The guitars were headed to addresses in 31 states, with 10 going t0 California. Locally, four were headed to Virginia and three each were going to Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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This was the second seizure of counterfeit guitars from China at Dulles Airport this year. Back in February, CBP detained and then seized a shipment of 36 fake guitars with an estimated value of $158,000.
“The international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens the competitiveness of American businesses and the livelihoods of U.S. workers while funding criminal activity,” said Keith Fleming, CBP’s acting director of Field Operations in Baltimore, in a release. “More importantly, counterfeit goods pose a serious health and safety risk to American consumers. Customs and Border Protection, along with our law enforcement and consumer safety partners, remain committed to making it difficult and costly for unscrupulous vendors to take advantage of unsuspecting American consumers.”
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