NEW ORLEANS — Counterfeit Gucci masks. Bogus Covid-19 testing kits. Unapproved body thermometers.
These are some of the items that have been confiscated in one of the more hidden battlefronts in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It's being waged at the Port of New Orleans, where inspectors are on constant alert for illegitimate cargo.
“When you open up these containers you never know what's going to be behind those doors,” said agriculture specialist Mack Hall, who inspects container cargo at the port.
New Orleans Port Director Terri Edwards of Customs and Border Protection was appointed to her post at the end of March, just as the pandemic began sweeping across the United States. Since her arrival, she said her officers have been extra-vigilant with hustlers and opportunists coming out of the woodwork trying to take advantage of the global emergency.
“We're certainly keeping an eye on all of the personal protective equipment, such as your face masks. Testing kits is another thing that we're looking for,” Edwards said.
Some of the recent seizures, like knock-off masks with fake designer labels, have come from scammers trying to make a quick buck. Others, like COVID-19 testing kits, were a serious matter of public safety.
“Now that we're in the midst of this pandemic we want to do everything that we can do to keep the people of New Orleans, the people of Louisiana and the people of the United States safe,” Edwards said.
Field Operations Assistant Director Terence Hudson said finding illegal shipments is like a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game for his inspectors. Hudson wasn’t ready to give away all of his officers’ secrets, but he said clues of illicit shipments can be as subtle as mismatched lettering on a crate or as obvious as good coming from a country that doesn’t even make that product.
“People who are shipping things, they try to change it up,” Hudson said. “Because once we lock into, 'Hey we got this, we know what they're doing,' they'll change it up and do something different.”
The job can be monotonous, like looking for a needle in a haystack, but the payoff comes when inspectors find illegal goods.
“You're always looking forward to that moment of finding something,” Hall said. “It makes the job a little more exciting.”
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