3M, parent company of Top 40 promotional products supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240), collaborated with federal authorities on an investigation that’s resulted in the seizure of more than 100,000 counterfeit 3M N95 surgical masks.

Valued at $600,480, the masks were destined to be used at a hospital on the East Coast, though authorities did not indicate which one.

Authorities seized more than 5,000 boxes of these bogus N95 masks at a Texas facility on Dec. 3.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted the shipment of 100,080 bogus N95 masks at the Ysleta Cargo Facility in El Paso, TX on Dec. 3.

3M makes N95 respirator masks, which have been in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. ICE HSI agents determined the seized masks were not genuine 3M products after working in conjunction with 3M and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.

“The seizure of these counterfeit surgical masks not only ensures the health and safety of our frontline healthcare workers by preventing them from receiving inferior personal protective equipment, it also protects the integrity of the American economy,” said Erik P. Breitzke, acting special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “We will continue to aggressively investigate, arrest and prosecute criminal counterfeiters who show a total disregard for human life and take advantage of a relentless pandemic for economic gain.”

Agents investigate the facility where the fraudulent masks were received.

No arrests were announced in connection with the seizure, which was part of Operation Stolen Promise, an initiative involving multiple federal agencies and some private sector companies that aims to investigate and stop fraudulent schemes tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The operation has so far yielded nearly 200 arrests and $28 million dollars in recovered assets, according to ICE. Most counterfeit goods are originating in China, according to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.