U.S. officials say Chicago sting in February seized nearly $34M in illegal e-cigs
May 22 (UPI) -- Tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal e-cigarette products were seized in Chicago in a joint operation between the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials said Thursday.
Officials say the sting in February that uncovered the China-originated packages was valued at about $33.8 million and were intended for distribution to multiple states.
Investigators uncovered several illegal e-cig brands such as Snoopy Smoke, Raz and more.
"We continue to see an increased number of shipments of vaping related products packaged and mislabeled to avoid detection," said Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products.
The FDA and CBP sit on a joint federal task force focused on e-cigarette enforcement activity.
"However, we have been successful at preventing these shipments from entering the U.S. supply chain," Koplow said, despite efforts to "conceal the true identity of these unauthorized e-cigarette products."
February's seizure in Illinois was part of a joint federal operation to examine incoming U.S. shipments and prevent the entry of illegal e-cigarettes.
"Seizures of illegal e-cigarettes keep products that haven't been authorized by the FDA out of the United States and out of the hands of our nation's youth," said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
On Thursday, the FDA said many of the unauthorized shipments contained vague product descriptions with incorrect values in an "apparent attempt to evade duties."
According to federal officials, most shipments violate the FDA's food, drug and cosmetic laws, while other products get confiscated due to intellectual property right violations on trademarked items.
Additionally, they added that FDA officials sent import letters warning 24 tobacco importers.
At the end of April, border agents busted a shipment of some 17,500 fake brand cigarettes from Vietnam valued at nearly $730,000 after pausing its arrival in Miami and intercepting it days later in Texas.
Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago made 121 seizures that contained more than 3.2 million banned electronic nicotine devices worth over $81 million, and the agency made a similar million-dollar seizure in June of illegal vape pens offloaded from China.
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