Federal officers have seized hundreds of counterfeit sensors used for monitoring motor vehicle tire pressure that were bound from Hong Kong to a home in Brooklyn Park, authorities announced Wednesday.
The 300 sensors bearing a General Motors stamp were first detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on May 30 as they arrived at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, then they were formally seized on Monday, the agency announced.
Had the sensors been genuine, the retail price for them would have totaled $28,500, the CBP said.
More importantly, the agency explained, these counterfeit sensors would create a safety risk had they been installed on a vehicle. By monitoring air pressure inside tires, genuine sensors improve driving safety, increase gas mileage and make properly inflated tires last longer.
"Our officers are not only protecting the integrity of the American economy through trademark enforcement, but they are also securing manufacturing supply chains by preventing potentially dangerous products from being installed on your car," LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the CBP's Chicago Field Office, said in a statement.
"This underscores how counterfeiters completely disregard human lives and their safety while padding their bank accounts," Sutton-Burke added.
CBP spokesman Steven Bansbach declined to reveal the Brooklyn Park address where the sensors were headed.
Bansbach said the case is now in the hands of the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to determine whether criminal charges will be filed.
