Five fake jewelry shipments valued at over $25 million if sold at a retail price were confiscated by the CBP (the U.S. Customs and Border Protection). Over a few days, officers seized about 2,250 counterfeit items in Louisville.
The first package from China was confiscated on June 19 and included 319 “Cartier” bracelets. A second one from Hong Kong came in just a few hours, and had 81 fingerpieces, 206 earring pairs, and 489 necklaces that were all branded as Van Cleef & Arpels.
Officials stopped three more shipments on June 20, also from China, loaded with additional 810 fake Cartier bracelets. A total of 2,192 items were withdrawn from the market, and many of them showed illegal intellectual property use, including trademarks under the Centers of Excellence & Expertise.
Photos courtesy of CBP.
The pieces imitated such famous brands as Cartier, Pandora, and Van Cleef & Arpels. The agency said, “If these goods had been real products of these brands, their retail value would be over $25.25 million.“
The CBP underlined other threats such fake products pose to regular consumers. “Trademark regulation breaches weaken the American economy and support criminal gangs. Purchasing counterfeit undermines the work of real businesses and negatively influences the workforce. Thus, the harm actually spreads beyond luxury brands,” said Sutton-Burke, the Field Office Director of Field Operations in Chicago.
Just so you know, among the most often seized fake products are jewelry pieces, accessories, wallets, and women’s bags. According to the CBP, China and Hong Kong together accounted for more than 89% of all IPR-related crackdowns in the previous year.
The agency reminded consumers that buying counterfeit goods isn’t a crime without victims. Although they might think they got a great bargain, they’re unknowingly helping illegal activity, not to mention getting a product with compromised quality. Thus, the Olertis team also encourages you to stay careful and avoid buying a branded product with an unusually low price. It’s better to pay a bit more but to know that you’re buying a real thing and that nobody was hurt in the process.
