Texas CBP Seizes Freon, 12,000 Fake Registration Stickers

BROWNSVILLE, TX—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Brownsville Port of Entry officers this weekend seized freon and 12,000 counterfeit vehicle registration stickers during a single enforcement action.

The interception occurred on Saturday, July 14, when CBP officers at the Veterans International Bridge referred a 2006 Jeep Cherokee for secondary inspection. During the examination, CBP discovered boxes containing 12,000 allegedly counterfeit Texas vehicle registration stickers and 12 canisters of freon within the vehicle.

Since January 1, 2022, Environmental Protection Agency regulations prohibit any person from importing bulk regulated hydrofluorocarbons except by expending, at the time of import, a consumption or application-specific allowance issued by the EPA. No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any regulated HFC that was imported illegally. HFCs are potent greenhouse gases commonly used as refrigerants that have a global warming potential that can be hundreds to thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide. Those who bring in canisters of such regulated HFCs without adhering to EPA regulations face a fine for failure to declare the item and the vehicle used in the furtherance of the violation may be subject to seizure.

CBP officers seized the vehicle, freon, registration stickers and turned them over to the Brownsville Police Department. Brownsville Police arrested the driver and initiated a criminal investigation.

“Our frontline CBP officers maintained their vigilance amid heavy summer travel season traffic and intercepted a unique combination of freon and counterfeit vehicle registration stickers,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry. “CBP officers enforce a variety of laws, including those that help protect the environment and they also work hand in glove with our state and local law enforcement partners when they encounter items such as counterfeit vehicle registration stickers, which would violate state law.