Designer Look-Alike Sunglasses Worth $12M Seized From Ports
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Customs officials say they've cracked down on a shady deal by seizing nearly 79,000 pairs of look-a-like designer sunglasses in Southern California.
A statement Wednesday from U.S. Customs and Border Protection says sunglasses that have some design and logo similarities to Coach, Gucci and Armani shades were seized in the last two weeks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The glasses aren't counterfeits but the agency says they could be confused with the genuine article.
They arrived in three shipments from China. Customs spokesman Jaime Ruiz says it's hard to determine the street value of the shades but the suggested retail price of a similar-sized shipment of real designer glasses would be around $12 million.
(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
