Philadelphia CBP Seizes Nearly $10 Million in Counterfeit Luxury Watches from Hong Kong

Philadelphia, PA–U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 699 luxury brand watches Thursday in Philadelphia.   If authentic, these watches would hold a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of nearly $10 million.

Counterfeit watches from Hong Kong (image credit: CBP)

The express consignment parcel arrived June 11 from Hong Kong, China and was manifested as lithium batteries.  When CBP officers inspected the shipment, officers encountered luxury brand watches bearing the name Rolex, Tous, Hublot, Piguet, Panerai, Patek, Fossil, and Harley Davidson.  Officers detained the shipment as the craftsmanship was of questionable quality and the packaging was of poor quality.

Counterfeit watches have poor quality (image credit: CBP)

CBP has designated Intellectual Property Rights enforcement as a Priority Trade Issue. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy and threaten the health and safety of American people.

On a typical day in 2017, CBP officers seized $3.3 million worth of products with IPR violations.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, the number of IPR seizures increased 8 percent to 34,143 from 31,560 in FY 2016.  The total estimated MSRP of the seized goods, had they been genuine, decreased to $1.2 billion from $1.38 billion in FY 2016.

As a result of CBP enforcement efforts, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested 457 individuals, obtained 288 indictments, and received 242 convictions related to intellectual property crimes in 2017.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here