When you think of smuggling things across the border, you probably think of drugs. For the border agents in International Falls, Minnesota, they had a stash of counterfeit toy planes to deal with.
About 36-thousand fake toy planes were seized at the border as they were being brought across the Canadian border. The counterfeit toys originated in China and according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection have a total street value of more than $575-thousand.
At this point, it's unclear if any arrests were made, but Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jason Givens explains, the seize helps both American businesses and Americans themselves. "Each time someone buys a counterfeit good, a legitimate company loses revenue," he notes. "This translates to lost profits and U.S. jobs over time." What's more, fake products are often not good quality, which could lead to injury.
Source: Star Tribune