Chicago Crackdown
Chicago O’Hare’s International Mail Branch was keen not to be outdone by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and has made its own mountain out of a molehill
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by Dave Cross
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protections officers impounded a shipment they labelled, “misbranded consumer goods being imported by an unauthorised agent”. The shipment from Hong Kong was labelled as lithium-ion batteries on the manifest but was “intentionally improperly labelled in order to avoid detection” the Mail Branch said, “a common practice used by smugglers”.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said they assumed the products would have gone on to be sold without proper authorisation and that they would continue “to work diligently to stop non-legitimate products from entering the United States.”
The 50,000 “dragster Mountain Vape Pens” are believed to hold a value of $450,000 (£329,150).
Shane Campbell, the Area Port Director for Chicago O’Hare said: “Our officers are dedicated to identifying and intercepting these types of shipments that could potentially harm our communities. Customs and Border Protection’s trade enforcement mission places a significant emphasis on intercepting illicit products that could harm American consumers, and we will continue to work with our consumer safety partners to identify and seize unsafe and illicit goods.”
The FDA announced it was planning to implement an increased enforcement policy of targeting vape imports last year. It issued warnings to the industry about the new enforcement priorities and has embarked on a process of publicly broadcasting the confiscations.
Customs and Border Protection has stated that it has published basic import information and expects vapers to adhere to it when they make online purchases. It says e-commerce goods must comply with all state and federal import regulations.
It says it will be screening arriving international passengers and cargo for narcotics, weapons, and other restricted or prohibited products – including vaping devices and eliquids – at all ports of entry throughout the United States.
As vape shops find it increasingly difficult to conduct a profitable business and access to products diminishes, American vapers on social media are discussing plans to stock up and weather the storm until politicians finally accept the reality that vaping offers a proven way out of smoking.
President Joe Biden has a glorious opportunity to do something magnificent for the nation and allow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to focus on narcotics and weapons.
Related:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection – [link]
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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