U.S. Customs brags about seizing 'counterfeit Apple AirPods.' Uh, those are OnePlus Buds.
Well, this is embarrassing: the Customs and Border Protection seems to have seized 2,000 OnePlus Buds, thinking they're counterfeit Apple AirPods.
It sounds hard to believe, but a CBP press release (via The Verge) lays out the facts quite clearly.
"On August 31, CBP officers seized 2,000 counterfeit Apple Airpod Earbuds from Hong Kong destined for Nevada at an air cargo facility located at John F. Kennedy International Airport. If the merchandise were genuine, the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) would have been $398,000," the press release says.
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The problem is that the release contains two photos of what appear to be perfectly genuine OnePlus Buds.
CBP's caption under one of the images clearly states that these are "counterfeit Apple Airpod Earbuds seized."
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CBP also proudly tweeted the accomplishment with the caption: "That's not an (Apple emoji)." Erm, no, it clearly isn't.
“The interception of these counterfeit earbuds is a direct reflection of the vigilance and commitment to mission success by our CBP Officers daily," Troy Miller, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations, said in a statement.
An error of some sort has clearly been made here. Yes, the OnePlus Buds do look a lot like Apple's AirPods, but they're not counterfeit goods. If anything, the buds shown in CBP's photo could be counterfeit OnePlus Buds, and not AirPods. Or perhaps an entirely wrong photo has been used? It's a mystery.
OnePlus, meanwhile, is having a bit of fun with the situation.
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Mashable has contacted CBP to find more; we'll update the post when we hear back.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
