Customs officers seized a shipment of 251 unauthorized COVID-19 test kits at San Diego International Airport, officials announced this week.
The shipment, listed as “plastic card,” arrived in two parcels aboard a flight from Mexico on Dec 1, according to a Wednesday press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Officers detained the shipment for further inspection, and discovered the large number of kits, officials said.
The FDA determined that the shipment did not have an Emergency Use Authorization from the agency, and violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, because the kits were misbranded.
The kits, with a domestic value of $5,000, were not allowed to proceed past Customs, and officers notified Homeland Security Investigations.
“I am proud of how vigilant our officers are when it comes to protecting our communities,” CBP San Diego Director of Field Operations, Anne Maricich, said in a statement.
“They stopped the entry of unauthorized, unproven and potentially unsafe goods into the United States. This is a perfect example of the great investigative work by our officers to protect our country from goods that could do us harm.”
