Louisville, Ky. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville, Kentucky, seized 2,760 pieces of counterfeit jewellery in a 24-hour period – a haul that, if genuine, would be worth more than $4.4 million.
On 3 April, officers intercepted two shipments originating in Hong Kong and destined for two different recipients in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
One contained 400 bracelets, while the second shipment contained 993 jewellery sets, all bearing “suspect” Van Cleef & Arpels trademarks, CBP said.
Officers shared documentation and photographs with their trade experts at the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), who determined that the jewellery was counterfeit.
If genuine, the pieces would have been worth $3.7 million.
On 4 April, another shipment was intercepted, this time originating in Hong Kong and destined for a residence in Cleveland, Ohio.
Inside the package, agents found 1,367 counterfeit pendants with “suspect” trademarks from Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent, Tiffany & Co, Versace, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana and MCM.
There were also jewels with “suspicious” New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers trademarks.
Once again, CEE experts determined that the items were not authentic. If they were genuine, the total value would be more than $710,000.All three packages have been turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and an investigation is ongoing, CBP said.
In a statement, Louisville Port Director Thomas Mahn stressed the importance of protecting intellectual property to the US economy.
“No one buys a luxury brand piece of jewellery expecting it to fail or fall apart,” he said. “As consumers increasingly shop online or through third-party vendors, our officers are on the front lines to protect against fraudsters who expect to make money by selling counterfeit goods.”
His sentiments were echoed by LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations in the Chicago Field Office.
“Substandard and illegal products harm the U.S. economy and the health and safety of consumers,” she said. “Once again, our CBP officers at the Port of Louisville have demonstrated their exceptional skills and superior commodity expertise.”
In fiscal year 2022, CBP said it seized more than 24.5 million items that violated intellectual property rights. If genuine, the items would have been worth nearly $3 billion.
CBP has an educational initiative available online to educate consumers about the dangers of counterfeit goods.
