US customs seize 100k fake N95s from Hong Kong

US customs officials at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York have seized 100,000 counterfeit 3M N95 masks imported from Hong Kong.

Counterfeit masks may not meet production standards or offer the labeled level of efficacy, a statement from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.

The seizures take the total number of counterfeit face masks intercepted by US officials since the start of the pandemic to 14 million.

Customs have also seized nearly 180,000 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-prohibited COVID-19 test kits, and tens of thousands of FDA-prohibited pharmaceuticals.

“CBP officers and import specialists stand ever vigilant in protecting the American public,” said Troy Miller, director of CBP’s New York field office. “Allowing counterfeits like these to reach the public or our healthcare heroes is a risk we cannot take,”  Miller added.

CBP officials cooperated with 3M to evaluate the authenticity of the masks, who confirmed they were fake.

3M has been active in policing the market since the pandemic began, filing a number of high-profile suits against alleged ‘price gougers’.

In October, the company settled its case against an ex-marine who was accused of falsely claiming organisations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Matthew Starsiak, a former major in the US Marine Corps, allegedly approached 3M seeking to buy $1.143 trillion in 3M N95 masks for distribution in Africa.

After being rebuffed, Starsiak allegedly used the names of 3M lawyers as “bait to lure unwitting buyers into placing large amounts of money in escrow to purchase billions of fictitious 3M N95 respirators”.

A Minnesota judge approved a settlement agreement between 3M and Starsiak, including an order requiring the ex-marine to destroy any unauthorised goods purporting to be legitimate 3M products.

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