Smugglers are shipping counterfeit hoverboards into New York at such a rate that the Customs and Border Protection agency confiscated more than 1,000 of the devices at John F. Kennedy airport in one month, officials said.
Customs officials seized 1,378 of the illicit devices in February 2015 at JFK alone – a retail value of about $447,000, authorities said.
The counterfeit boards, likely manufactured in Mexico, have potentially dangerous batteries that have sparked fires in the tri-state region and across the country.
“The interception of these potentially dangerous hoverboards is a direct reflection of the vigilance and commitment to mission success by our CBP officers and import specialists daily,” Robert E. Perez, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations, said in a statement.
