$28 million in counterfeit watches seized by Louisville US CBP

At the Port of Louisville, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment on July 9 containing 200 counterfeit watches. Had these watches been genuine, the shipment would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price of over $28 million.

The shipment from Hong Kong was headed for Illinois when officers pulled the parcel for inspection. The examination revealed 200 watches bearing suspected Audemars Piguet trademarks. The items were deemed to be inauthentic by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts, and were seized for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks.

“Counterfeit goods are poor quality products costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues,” said Louisville’s Port Director, Philip Onken. “Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.”

Just two weeks ago, Louisville officers seized a shipment containing 375 counterfeit Audemars Piguet watches with a MSRP exceeding $54 million.

Illegitimate sales are some of the most profitable transnational crimes. Counterfeiters sell inauthentic versions of popular products in response to trends, often through online sources, which adversely impacts legitimate U.S. businesses. These items, including fake medications, perfumes, and cosmetics, children’s toys and costumes, fashion, jewelry, and luxury products, and unsafe electronics and automative parts, can pose serious health and safety risks to American consumers as they are often made with substandard or harmful materials.