US CBP Seizes Three Counterfeit Goods Shipments Worth Over $5.5M

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville intercepted three shipments on July 30 and 31 that contained counterfeit jewelry and watches worth over $5.59 million.

On July 30, the first two packages were seized. One shipment contained 580 counterfeit pieces of David Yurman Jewelry. If these were real, this jewelry would have had a Manufactured Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $365,400. The second shipment contained 2,411 various counterfeit designer watches. If these were real, the MSRP for these watches would have been over $4.46 million. The final shipment arrived on July 31. When officers inspected the parcel, they discovered 10 counterfeit Rolex watches. Had these items been genuine, they would have had a MSRP of $756,500

All these shipments originated from Hong Kong and were destined for Ontario, California, Jonesboro, Georgia, and Worcester, Massachusetts respectively. All items were evaluated and determined to be counterfeit by an Import Specialist from CBP’s Center of Excellence and Expertise.

“These types of seizures happen every night. Our officers are very well trained and vigilant in stopping these illegal shipments from reaching their destinations,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office. “Whether it is Intellectual Property Right violations, narcotics, unapproved items or counterfeit products our officers will continue to protect our local communities and our ports of entry.”

Intellectual property rights (IPR) violations are associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and often funds criminal enterprises.