A shipment of over $500,000 worth of Labubu knockoffs was confiscated by US Customs and Border Protection officers at a Seattle airport, according to reports and authorities.
CBP officers assigned to inspect cargo at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport seized 11,134 fake Labubu dolls with a hefty retail price of $513,937.76, a CBP spokesperson told NBC News.
The dolls, known as “Lafufus,” were seized last Monday after officers inspected the shipment labeled “LED Bulb” from South Korea.
Officials determined the shipment violated federal laws barring unlawful imports and those that profit from others’ intellectual holdings, the spokesperson told the outlet.
The army of knockoff dolls will be destroyed, authorities said.
No arrests have been made yet, officials added.
“Excellent work by our diligent and meticulous CBPOs! P.S. we’re still on the lookout for the one and only 24K GOLD Labubu,” Brian Humphrey, the Director of Field Operations for the CBP Seattle Field Office, wrote on X.
“Fake Labubus are not welcome in America. Thanks for the good catch Seattle!” the CBP wrote in a reply.
The fakes often have overly bright colors or the wrong number of teeth. Authentic Labubus — made by China’s Pop Mart — have exactly nine teeth.
Knockoffs of the popular and pricey plush dolls can pose “a serious risk of choking and death to young children,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission previously said.
Some Lafufu buyers have complained that heads of the fake dolls have popped off.
Labubu dolls typically feature a holographic Pop Mart sticker, and some of the newer ones come with a subtle UV stamp on one foot.
The fuzzy, pointy-toothed Labubu dolls have sold out in stores around the world.
Resales of the dolls, which originally retailed for around $40, have fetched hundreds and even thousands of dollars on sites like eBay, sending Labubu fanatics on the hunt for cheap fakes.
Instances of theft of Labubu dolls have been reported since the craze emerged.
Earlier this month, 14 boxes of wildly popular Labubu dolls worth a staggering $30,000 were recovered by California police after they were stolen from a warehouse, authorities said.
A CBP spokesperson did not respond to the Post’s request for comment at the time of publication.
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