Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 22,000 fake car-inspection stickers, which would be worth $1,404,700 if real, in Philadelphia that had been shipped from Israel, the federal agency stated on Thursday.
The federal officers held one shipment, of 10,000 stickers, on Nov. 26 and 12,000 more that came on Dec. 9. After Pennsylvania authorities determined that the stickers were counterfeit, the federal officers seized them on Dec. 16, the agency stated.
Those who buy fake inspection stickers at a discount may aim to skirt Pennsylvania state law, which requires cars and other vehicles to be inspected every year to comply with “minimum motor vehicle mechanical, safety and emissions standards,” the federal agency stated. If caught, offenders “face a penalty of up to $500 and potential jail time.”
“Unscrupulous actors peddling fraudulent vehicle inspection stickers create a very serious public safety concern,” stated Cleatus Hunt, the agency’s area port director for the Area Port of Philadelphia.
“Fake inspection stickers mask unsafe motor vehicles that place all motorists on our roadways in harm,” Hunt added. “Customs and Border Protection officers will continue to seize illicit and illegal products that could be harmful to consumers and the public when we encounter them.”