see also: in June 2007 News Releases:   CBP, ATF Join Canadians in Launching Firearms Public Information Campaign Along U.S.-Canadian Border   Marijuana-Embedded Bricks Crumble at El Paso Port   FDA, CBP Advise of Potential Health Risks from Unpasteurized Cheese After Large Cheese Seizures at Laredo Border   CBP Officers Discover Exotic Birds at California Border Station   U.S., New Zealand Establish Joint Trade Security Arrangement   CBP Reminds Pleasure Boaters of Reporting Requirements When Returning from Foreign Locations   California CBP Officers Find Smuggled Persons in Truck Engine Compartment ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Laredo, Texas – Alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Laredo port of entry this weekend seized more than 200 pirated DVD movies, CDs and commercial quantities of clothing articles during a routine examination.

CBP officers at Lincoln-Juarez Bridge on June 9 referred a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup hauling a 2002 Ford truck driven by a 30-year-old resident alien from Austin, Texas for a secondary examination. The driver had given a negative declaration. During the examination, CBP officers discovered multiple DVD movies and CDs in a plastic bag in the truck bed. CBP officers also noted commercial quantities of shirts and baseball caps within the driver’s luggage.

CBP officers discovered that the DVDs and CDs were pirated copies. CBP officers seized a total of 215 pirated DVD movies/CDs and 162 shirts and baseball caps. CBP officers assessed the driver an $8,711 penalty for importation of merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark and for importation of a commercial quantity of clothing without presenting a commercial entry.

“Our officers maintained their vigilance and their perseverance resulted in a significant seizure of pirated electronic media and a commercial quantity of clothing in the passenger vehicle environment,” said Gene Garza, CBP port director, Laredo.

Across the nation in fiscal year 2006, CBP seized $155 million in domestic value of merchandise that violated intellectual and property rights law, a 67 percent increase over the $93 million in merchandise seized the previous year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.