U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a large shipment of non-Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved coronavirus testing kits arriving from Mexico.
CBP officers at the Port of San Diego confiscated 251 unapproved testing kits on Dec. 1, according to CBP. The shipment arrived on a flight from Mexico and was labeled as “plastic cards” and was detained by officers for inspection, during which officers uncovered the kits.
CBP officers recently intercepted and seized a shipment containing 251 non-@US_FDA approved COVID-19 test kits arriving at San Diego International Airport.
Learn more via @CBPSanDiego: https://t.co/KJNW6eYMH9 pic.twitter.com/T8u6x82LH2
— CBP (@CBP) December 11, 2020
The FDA determined that the kits, which are valued at $5,000, had not received emergency use authorization. (RELATED: American Airlines Becomes First To Sell At-Home COVID-19 Tests To Travelers)
“I am proud of how vigilant our officers are when it comes to protecting our communities, they stopped the entry of unauthorized, unproven and potentially unsafe goods into the United States,” CBP San Diego Director of Field Operations Anne Maricich said in a statement. “This is a perfect example of the great investigative work by our officers to protect our country from goods that could do us harm.”
Counterfeit coronavirus test kits have popped up throughout the country in recent months, with officers in Los Angeles catching a shipment of kits from the U.K. in March, according to WHO. The kits were labeled as “purified water vitals,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
CBP officers caught a man crossing the Mexican border in May with a suitcase that had 1,000 fake COVID-19 rapid tests.