CBP seizes 1400 scooters at Texas border

Another Chinese scooter grey-marketer busted, this time by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP’s press release doesn’t name the importer, but the scooter in the photo appears to be a CF Moto “E-Charm” CF150. It seems unlikely that CF Moto would risk importing illegal scooters, chances are this was another company buying CF-Moto scooters (or knockoffs) from a third party behind CF Moto’s back, possibly similar to the Lance/SYM controversy last month, (Though Lance presumably would have ensured their bikes were at least EPA-legal.)
(Thanks, bermshot!)

UPDATE: About 400 of the scooters were CF Motos, according to this story. Lev Mirman of CPI insists the bikes meet specs, and the government “grasping at straws to halt any shipment from China.” Also in our comments below, POCphil reports the seizure also included Aprilia Sport City 250s.

7 thoughts on “CBP seizes 1400 scooters at Texas border”

  1. Rawk awn, USCPB!

    I had a discussion with a customer about how/why it was possible to buy a 150cc scooter for $1200, just yesterday… he asked, “How can the government let these things into the country?”

    I replied, “Hey, they let thousands of dogs and cats die in this country, poisoned by melamine-tainted feed from China. You think they care more about YOUR safety, when we’re in hock up to our eyeballs to the Chinese?”
    .

  2. I don’t think it’s fair to say that they know and allow entry of illegal goods due to the structure of our national debt. If I know one thing about people who work at Agencies, Departments, Bureaus, and Offices is that their favorite word is “NO”. Further, I don’t know if many of them are overly concerned about specific money changing hands unless it has the word ‘fee’ or ‘surcharge’ associated with it. This, of course, excludes the construction, waste management and olive oil industries.

  3. I don’t think it’s fair to say that they know and allow entry of illegal goods due to the structure of our national debt.

    That’s only part of it. The other bigger part of it is when people campaign on the premise that government and regulation IS the problem, they, as a matter of necessity, spend an inordinate amount of their time proving that to be the case. There aren’t enough people looking at what gets shipped into our ports, regardless of quality or lack thereof. And that is by design.
    .

  4. what was the name of the 16″ wheeled model QLink used to sell ???……CF Moto was their scooter supplier for years prior to going solo for 2009……hmmm, maybe those seized scooters were heading for_____….nah, couldn’t be

  5. Here is a big opportunity for the CBP to have a fund raiser. Setup a race and supply the scooter for each rider. How fun would that be? They plan on destroying them anyhow.

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