Where do
ICE Agents go shopping?
A. El Paso, TX Fox Plaza Flea Market
B. D. C. Farmers Market
C. Homestead Bargain Town Flea Market
D. Houston Flea Markets
E. All of the above
How long
will the vendors selling counterfeit Nike athletic shoes, DVDs and CDs at the
local flea market get by with those sales until someone from U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) comes to visit? In the last couple of years, flea markets all over the country have been the target of ICE agents.
On Sunday
April 15, 2012, agents from the ICE Home Land Security Investigations (HIS) team
seized over 20,000 counterfeit items worth almost $900,000. Among the goods seized were:
- 8,911 DVDs;
- 10,699 CDs; and
- 1,728 items including purses, sports merchandise and Nike athletic shoes.
"Counterfeiting is a significant problem that affects our economy,
impacts American jobs, and puts the public's health and safety at risk,"
said Dennis A. Ulrich, special agent in charge for HSI El Paso. "Consumers
who buy pirated products may also be funding criminal organizations with their
purchases."
Without enforcement, manufacturers will
continue produce lower cost inferior goods that violate trademark, copyright
and patent laws. Some of these inferior
goods could be hazardous to consumer’s health because they are not manufactured
under the same regulations and processes as the patented or trademarked goods. Trade
in counterfeit goods also costs the true owners around the world billions of dollars annually.
If
you shop at a flea market and find name brands such as Nike, Calvin Klein, NFL
and other recognized brands at a price that sounds too good to be true, the
goods may be counterfeit. Do your part
to protect intellectual property rights.
If you discover name brand goods that are being sold in unusual
locations and at a price that is artificially low for the brand, report the
information to the IPR Center by contacting the toll-free hotlin3e at
866-IPR-2060 or completing the online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp
If you are a
vendor selling counterfeit goods, every day is a gamble with your freedom and
finances. The sweet elderly lady buying
the counterfeit Coach purse or the teenager buying the counterfeit CDs from
your booth could be undercover ICE agents!
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