CHICAGO (WLS) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $76,000 in counterfeit cash, and more than $465,000 in fake merchandise at O'Hare airport earlier this month.
The cash was found during an inspection last week of a variety of shipments from China.
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Officials said the counterfeit goods were found during a search of the baggage of a U.S. citizen just arriving from Turkey.
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They included clothing, handbags and jewelry.
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The shipments were heading to Houston and Mission, Texas; Greenbush, Minnesota; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Morris, Illinois, officials said.
Counterfeiting and intellectual property rights piracy cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion and $250 billion per year, are responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs and pose a threat to health and safety, officials said.