(NewsNation) — Forced labor, human trafficking and the drug trade are all criminal enterprises conducted by gangs, mobs and cartels, which are sometimes funded in part by counterfeit designer goods.
Customs and Border Protection agents confiscate millions of fake goods around the clock in cities such as New York, Louisville, Los Angels. Box after box of designer fakes, disguised to look like the real item, are flown in, shipped in and mailed.
In the United States, these goods are a multi-billion industry, providing a source of revenue sometimes used to fund deadly enterprises.
“Whether it’s a gang using it to buy firearms or terrorists using it to fund terrorist operations, the proceeds are often used to fund other crimes,” Lamar Jackson, assistant special agent of Los Angeles Homeland Security, said.
According to a report from the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime, groups such as the Mafia and Camorra in Europe and the Americas, and the Triads and Yakuza in Asia, have diversified into the illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods, while at the same time being involved in a number of criminal behaviors.
“There have been reports of authorities uncovering operations where proceeds from drug
trafficking were channeled into counterfeiting, and where profits from the sale of counterfeit
goods were used to further criminal’s other illicit operations,” the report said.
Recently, a $637,000 shipment flew into Chicago’s O’Hare airport from Thailand headed to Indiana. This shipment included parcels containing knock-off Rolexes, fake Louis Vuitton, Chanel sunglasses, and counterfeit Gucci socks.
In Louisville it happens around the clock. Counterfeit Dior handbags and Gucci belts are all hidden among legitimate cargo.
“The People’s Republic of China is responsible for the majority of counterfeit or pirated items that we do encounter crossing the border,” Michael Pfeiffer, Chicago’s acting area port director for the CBP, said. “We see counterfeit goods from across the world, but I would say that we have seen a number of products which originate from China.”
In the U.S., the top products seized include apparel, handbags, footwear, jewelry and electronics.
It’s intellectual property theft and the economic impact is staggering. Legitimate companies lose more than $1 trillion dollars annually as consumers looking to buy authentic merchandise are scammed into thinking they’re getting designer goods for less.
“If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Pfeiffer said.
Homeland Security is working to cut off the suppliers of these products by dismantling transnational criminal organizations.