Thousands of counterfeit hoverboards found in City of Industry bust

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. (KABC) -- About 4,000 counterfeit hoverboards were found during a bust in the City of Industry Thursday morning.

Eyewitness News got exclusive access to the multi-agency bust that targeted thousands of suspected Hoverbie counterfeit devices.

Stacks of boxes were found against walls inside a warehouse operated by a business called Rollitech. Officials said the netted hoverboards totaled to a street value of $1.5 million.

Agents from homeland security, private investigators, UL representatives and other agencies joined the L.A. County Sheriff's Department in the large operation. All agencies met for a briefing Thursday morning before conducting the carefully planned bust.

A number of people were ID'd and detained to see who was involved in the selling of the counterfeit hoverboards.

Officials searched the warehouse and found what looked like counterfeit Samsung batteries, believed to be responsible for fires in hoverboards.

Officials were also looking for a particular mark that indicated the hoverboards were fake.

"These boards are deemed counterfeit because they are displaying the UL certification mark. This mark, here, means safety. It stands for that this board has been safety tested...and as of today, there are no UL-certified hoverboards," said Kevin Olive, a UL representative.

UL certifications were not expected until the fall of 2016, according to officials.

Lt. Geff Deedrick of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said it was vital that the hoverboards stay out of the market place as Rollie Tech sold the counterfeits online, affecting a lot of people.

"These hoverBoards were being shipped all over the country, if not the world," he said. "So while we definitely are interested in protecting the community here in L.A. County, this goes beyond those borders. It's a proud moments for us to seize this quantity of hoverboards."

The counterfeit merchandise was seized pending further investigation, according to the LASD. No arrests were immediately made.