$700,000 in feces-infected counterfeit cosmetics seized by Los Angeles police

Kim Kardashian West said it best: “SO GROSS!”

That’s what the reality TV star Tweeted Friday after Los Angeles police announced they had seized $700,000 in counterfeit cosmetics in a raid, including makeup that tested positive for high levels of bacteria and human feces.

The department’s piracy unit raided 21 targets in the city’s downtown Fashion District on Thursday, police said. The raid led to six arrests on trademark violation charges. Police also issued cease and desist orders to more than a dozen businesses.

The raid was conducted with help from the FBI following complaints about makeup triggering skin problems, NBC Los Angeles reports.

“Busted!” Los Angeles Police Captain Mark Reina said on Twitter, sharing pictures of the cosmetics police were after in the seizure. “The best price is not always the best deal!”

Cosmetics seized included fake version of brands like Mac, Naked, Anastasia, Too Faced, Naked and Kylie —explaining West’s horrified Tweet. West wrote on Twitter that lip kits from her sister Kylie Jenner’s cosmetic imprint were among the trove of counterfeits.

Detective Rick Ishitani told KTLA that, in addition to taking fake cosmetics off the street, the goal of the raid was to “educate the public of the health and safety concerns of purchasing counterfeit cosmetics.”

West may have most succintly captured the moral of the story, though.

“Never buy counterfeit products!” she wrote on Twitter.

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 5:34 PM with the headline "$700,000 in feces-infected counterfeit cosmetics seized by Los Angeles police."