Law enforcement

New enforcement effort targets dangerous electronics

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – with support from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) – have launched an initiative targeting the illegal importation and distribution of counterfeit consumer electronics known to present health and safety hazards by overheating, igniting, and causing severe injuries and extensive property damage.

The operation, named “Surge Protector”, will focus on electronics vulnerable to counterfeiting, including phony digital media devices, power adapters and consumer technology powered by lithium ion batteries. Counterfeit electronics are routinely the second most seized commodity during the course of intellectual property enforcement conducted by ICE and CBP. From Fiscal Year 2013 to FY 2015, homeland security personnel made over 17,000 seizures related to counterfeit consumer electronics, and the new effort will provide additional resources to agents and allow investigators to more effectively track arrests, indictments and convictions surrounding the illicit sale of these items.