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Customs seizes 40 fake Burberry, Coach wallets
Customs Services Division personnel confiscated some 40 pieces of counterfeit Burberry, Coach, and Lacoste women’s wallets and purses on Wednesday, Customs director Joe Mafnas said yesterday. The importer was fined $500, which was immediately paid.
“If they’re sold as genuine products, the price would reach $14,100,” Mafnas told Saipan Tribune.
Most of the seized fake brand items were Burberry women’s wallets, he said.
The counterfeit items were discovered in boxes that were simply declared “bags.” When Customs checked, they were able to find 40 women’s wallets and purses bearing the international luxury brand names Burberry, Coach, and Lacoste that, according to Mafnas, were easily determined as counterfeit.
“The importer cooperated with Customs and she admitted they were bought from Divisoria in the Philippines. We confiscated the items for destruction and we fined the importer $500 because it was the first incident involving her and she cooperated with us. But if she does it again, the fines will be higher and she could be charged,” Mafnas added.
The Customs director said the items were meant for a store Garapan, but the importer also sells at a Saturday flea market.
“This should serve as a warning to other importers. If we catch you bringing in contrabands, you will be fined or charged or both, to protect the CNMI. We do not want tourists and residents buying these counterfeit products that will hurt the CNMI’s reputation,” he added.
Rep. John Paul Sablan (Cov-Saipan), who worked for 14 years at the Customs Services Division before becoming a lawmaker, commended Customs for its vigilance and enforcement of the law.
“Intellectual property rights protection is a worldwide issue, including in the CNMI. We want luxury items that are being sold here to be genuine, not counterfeit,” said Sablan, who was among those from the CNMI that were sent to Hawaii to attend an intellectual property rights conference and training when he was still with Customs.
The confiscation of the counterfeit women’s wallets comes some three months after Customs also seized 40 cartons of smuggled cigarettes hidden in two boxes mixed with some 400 boxes of various merchandise in a 20-foot container from China. The container and the smuggled cigarettes were consigned to a Lower Base wholesaler. The seized cigarettes have since been destroyed.
