INDIANAPOLIS — U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers in Indianapolis recently seized more than 1,200 counterfeit driver’s licenses.
Last week, Indianapolis CBP stopped three shipments arriving from Hong Kong. The contents were described as “Game Card” and had a value of $20.
The first shipment was heading to Chicago and the other two shipments were heading to addresses in New York.
Officers inspected the shipments and discovered 1,207 phony driver’s licenses for more than 20 states, including California, Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan, and Illinois.
Most of the fake IDs were for college-aged people, according to CBP. Some licenses would share the same picture but have a different name.
The reasoning for buying fake IDs has evolved from teenagers trying to get into bars to more nefarious activity, according to LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations-Chicago.
“Some of the major concerns as it relates to fraudulent identity documents is identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures,” said Sutton-Burke.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection routinely inspects arriving and departing international flights and intercepts drugs, weapons, money, prohibited agriculture products, counterfeit goods, and other illicit items at more than 320 of the country’s international ports of entry.
