LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 3,000 pieces of counterfeit jewelry was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers Monday night.
The two shipments contained a total of 3,301 pieces of counterfeit designer rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. The items were deemed inauthentic by CBP's Center of Expertise.
If the items were authentic, they would have had a retail value of over $9.58 million.
“These large seizures illustrate the work our officers do every day to protect our country, its citizens, and the economy,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for Chicago's field office, said. “Our officers are dedicated to preventing counterfeiters from defrauding consumers and legitimate businesses.”
Accoridng to CBP, the first shipment arrived from Hong Kong and included 92 bracelets displaying the logos of Gucci, Tory Burch, Hermes, Tiffany, Bvlgari, Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Louis Vuitton; 24 necklaces bearing the logos of Van Cleef and Arpels and Louis Vuitton; 23 rings displaying the logos of Van Cleef and Arpels and Gucci; and 18 pairs of earrings bearing Van Cleef and Arpels logos.
The second shipment also arrived from Hong Kong and included 600 bracelets displaying the logo of Cartier and 2,544 pairs of earrings bearing the logo of Prada.
The shipment was heading to a home in Huntington Beach, California.
CBP seized over 23 million shipments of intellectual property rights violations in Fiscal Year 2023, which would have been worth nearly $2.4 billion had the goods been authentic.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
