Customs and Border Protection intercepts nearly 1,000 fake IDs within days at O'Hare
CHICAGO (CBS) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Chicago announced Wednesday that it confiscated nearly 1,000 fake driver's licenses within just six days recently.
Last week, CBP officers at the International Mail Facility at O'Hare found the 984 fake IDs hidden in laptop chargers, plastic mirrors, and necklace or jewelry boxes. They were discovered between Tuesday, Jan. 21, and Sunday, Jan. 26.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the uptick comes as the spring semester starts at colleges, and students under 21 are looking to buy alcohol with a fake ID.
But CBP warned that fake IDs these days are used for activities more sinister than trying to get into a bar or buy a beer from a liquor store.
"Producing these documents without proper authorization and oversight is illegal, and the story doesn't stop there. Fake documents are associated with identity theft and human trafficking, and the revenue generated from their sales is known to fund organized crime," LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the CBP Chicago Field Office, said in a news release. "Our officers and specialists are trained to recognize a spectrum of fake identification, and their hard work protects innocent civilians around the world."
CBP routinely inspects arriving and departing international flights and confiscates narcotics, weapons, prohibited agricultural products, counterfeit goods, and other illicit items.