Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 38 designer brand watches Tuesday in Philadelphia that, if authentic, would have had a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $412,750. Instead, they’re headed to destruction.
Officers examined the shipment from Hong Kong August 26. It was manifested as “P1967 Lithium Ion Batteries in CO,” and was destined to an address in Philadelphia. Officers suspected the watches to be counterfeit and detained the shipment, which included the Rolex, Invicta, Rado and Hublot brand names.
CBP officers worked with CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Centers for Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts and verified through trademark holders that the watches were counterfeit.
“Counterfeit consumer goods fund transnational criminal organizations, are manufactured in unregulated facilities and with substandard materials that may potentially harm American consumers, hurt our nation’s economy, and steal revenue and brand integrity from U.S. businesses and trademark holders,” said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “Customs and Border Protection will continue to work closely with our trade and consumer safety partners to intercept counterfeit consumer goods, especially products that can harm American consumers.”
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.
On a typical day in 2018, CBP officers seized $3.7 million worth of products with IPR violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2018.
In fiscal year (FY) 2018, the number of IPR seizures decreased by 333 seizures to 33,810 from 34,143 in FY 2017. The total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, had they been genuine, increased to nearly $1.4 billion from over $1.2 billion in FY 2017. Read more 2018 IPR Enforcement Statistics.
As a result of CBP enforcement efforts, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested 381 individuals, obtained 296 indictments, and received 260 convictions related to intellectual property crimes in 2018.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.
