Note to future imposters: if you’re shipping fake designer shoes, make sure they come from a believable location. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 20,457 pairs of the counterfeit heels with a retail value of $18 million at the Long Beach [Calif.] Airport on Thursday. The shoes, shipped from China, would have cost $3 per pair to make there. “The original [Christian Louboutin] shoe is made in Italy,” chief customs officer Guillermina Escobar told ABC News. “Once we saw it was coming in from China, we knew there was a problem with the shipment.” Customs said it will destroy the shoes—probably by burning them.
