Bogus designer COVID-19 face masks — worth big money if real —seized in Kentucky

Designer face masks from Coach and Chanel arrived in Kentucky, but they were seized before they got to stores, authorities said.

They were fakes from Vietnam. Had the masks — intended to fight the spread of COVID-19 — been real, they would have been worth more than $1.4 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

On Jan. 5, customs officers “detained” the package before inspecting it. It was shipped through Louisville on the way to a North Carolina residence.

There were 5,789 face masks from well-known designers.

“On a daily basis, criminals try to send fake designer products in the hopes of disrupting our economy,” said Thomas Mahn, port director in Louisville.

Customs said it seizes millions of all kinds of counterfeit product shipments annually. In 2020, “CBP seized 26,503 shipments containing goods that violated intellectual property rights. The total estimated value of the seized goods, had they been genuine, was nearly $1.3 billion.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 11:42 AM.