Federal border authorities have seized from a Minneapolis warehouse nearly 2,500 tire rims allegedly imported illegally from Asia that would have posed a safety hazard if used on motorized vehicles.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday announced the confiscation of the steel rims, which were shipped from Thailand and delivered by rail to an undisclosed warehouse.
Border agents inspected the 20 pallets holding 2,446 rims in a rail car on Monday and were notified their shipment lacked the approval of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA determined that the company is not a registered manufacturer, and the rims were inadmissible, according to the Customs and Border Protection announcement.
“It would be unsafe for anyone to use” the rims, because they “didn’t meet NHSTA requirements,” said Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Steve Bansbach.
Bansbach declined to disclose where the seizure occurred in Minneapolis or identify the whose warehouse received the shipment, which his agency valued on the retail market at more than $47,500.
“CBP is focused on identifying and intercepting unsafe merchandise and products,” Augustine Moore, the agency’s Minneapolis port director, said in a statement. “Our officers are committed to detecting, intercepting and seizing unapproved goods, which protects consumers and the economy.”