18 million vapes and a lorry of fake shirts
Two counterfeit-goods seizures from May 22: U.S. CBP's Operation Red Mist netted more than 18 million illegal Chinese vapes from maritime cargo (estimated retail value $175M+), with one single seizure within the operation covering 3 million units worth $76 million — roughly 4% of China's monthly e-cigarette exports to the U.S. Bulgaria's Sofia Customs separately found 3,579 counterfeit branded garments and perfumes hidden inside two pallets among declared printing paper on a lorry heading toward Greece. Both cases turn on the same tactic: declare something boring and hope no one looks inside.
18 million electronic cigarettes seized from Chinese maritime cargo. A lorry on a Bulgarian highway, headed to Greece, packed with printing paper — and, tucked into two pallets in the middle of it, 3,579 counterfeit branded garments and perfumes. Friday's seizure bulletin is short. The misdeclaration method is not.
1. U.S. Operation Red Mist: 18 million illegal vapes from Chinese maritime cargo, $175 million
CBP — U.S. Customs and Border Protection — announced on May 13 that it had seized more than 18 million units of illegal electronic nicotine delivery systems (vapes) from maritime cargo shipments originating in China, as part of a multi-agency enforcement push called Operation Red Mist. 1 The estimated retail value: more than $175 million. Partners in the operation included the U.S. Coast Guard and the Food and Drug Administration.
The concealment method was mundane on paper. Shipments were misclassified on cargo manifests and labeled improperly — standard container fraud at an industrial scale. None of the seized devices held FDA premarket authorization, which is the legal prerequisite for selling any vaping product in the United States. Currently only 41 FDA-authorized products are permitted for U.S. sale. The 18-million-unit haul is roughly 86.3% of the U.S. e-cigarette market that operates outside legal authorization, according to retail data cited in commentary on the operation. 2
The scale becomes more concrete in a single data point: one seizure within the operation covered 3 million units valued at $76 million — which works out to approximately 4% of China's entire monthly e-cigarette exports to the United States. 2
A parallel enforcement action, Operation Vape Trail, seized more than 2.3 million vape devices and cartridges plus more than 100 weapons within a single week. 2 The CBP press release does not specify whether Vape Trail is a subset of Red Mist or a separate concurrent operation; no standalone CBP release for Vape Trail has been published.
CBP's Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino described the spread of illegal e-cigarettes as "alarming for communities everywhere," adding that CBP personnel are "working tirelessly to keep these dangerous products out of our communities, especially out of the hands of young people who are frequently targeted by manufacturers." 1
No specific ports of entry were named in any public source. No arrests were announced.
2. Bulgaria: 3,579 counterfeit branded goods hidden in a lorry of printing paper
On May 22, officers from the Sofia Customs Territorial Directorate stopped a Bulgarian-registered lorry near Hadjidimovo, on the route from Bulgaria toward Greece. 3 The declared cargo: printing paper.
Officers grew suspicious during the roadside stop and found 2 pallets hidden among the declared paper. Inside: 3,483 garments — T-shirts, shorts, and football team sports kits — and 96 packs of perfume, all bearing logos of world-famous brands. Total counterfeit count: 3,579 items. The driver is a Bulgarian citizen.
The method here is older than container misdeclaration and considerably cheaper to run. Printing paper is dense, dull, and comes on pallets — it is exactly the kind of declared cargo that makes customs officers' eyes slide past. The counterfeit goods were compact enough to fit inside two pallets without visibly distorting the lorry's load profile. 3
The seizure falls under compensatory border measures Bulgaria introduced after its full Schengen Area accession and the removal of EU internal border controls — the internal border checkpoints disappear, so external and road-transit checks get more intensive. The case will be reported to the trademark owners under EU Regulation 608/2013 (the customs enforcement regulation for intellectual property rights). No value figure for the seized goods was disclosed by Bulgarian authorities.
Cover image: CBP officer inspecting cargo, image from Operation Red Mist — U.S. CBP
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