Federal officers in Minnesota acting on public health concerns confiscated nearly $1.5 million worth of unauthorized nicotine vapes and refill cartridges that were shipped from China.
The seizure of 90,000 vapes and 75,000 cartridges occurred in August and September at a cargo facility at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Monday.
CBP put the retail value of the seized e-cigarette items at nearly $1.5 million.
The Chinese shipments bound for California were confiscated for violating the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, CBP said.
CBP officers in Minnesota were alerted to the shipments by intelligence gathered by the agency’s Chicago field office. CBP and FDA personnel determined the items lacked the FDA’s marketing authorization, and “the tobacco products were found to be adulterated and misbranded,” CBP’s announcement read.
The vapes and cartridges have been “moved to a secure location” and remain there until the shippers decide whether to appeal the seizures, said CBP spokesman Steven Bansbach.
CBP said the shipments contained several flavors of unauthorized vaping products including Blue Razz, Iced Lush, Blue Lightning, Gum Mint, Turkish Tobacco and Classic Tobacco.
LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operations in the Chicago field office, said in a statement that “these shipments could potentially harm the health and wellbeing of people within our communities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade enforcement mission places a significant emphasis on intercepting illicit products.”
