U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Indianapolis, Indiana, announced Monday that it seized two shipments containing 460 fake Rolex watches sent from Hong Kong.
CBP officers in Indianapolis, Indiana confiscated the cargo on April 28, where they found 300 counterfeit watches in the first shipment and 160 in the second, according to a CBP media release. Had the Rolex watches been authentic, the retail value would have been $10.1 million, the report claims.
The shipments were heading to Brooklyn, New York, the release stated.
“This is just another example of the work our officers do to protect consumers and the U.S. economy,” Port Director of Indianapolis Jeremy Brodsky stated. “Our officers are at the frontline protecting the U.S. economy and guarding against criminals making money by selling fake merchandise.”
This is the third shipment of watches that CBP seized in the month of April. Had all the shipment contents been genuine, they would have had a combined value of $20 million, CBP claims. (RELATED: US Border Protection Seizes 1,300 Fake Championship Rings From China)
Border officials seize $10M in 460 fake Rolex watches bound for Brooklyn from Hong Kong https://t.co/Trr1Q267To
— Taalib (@Taaalib) May 4, 2022
“No one buys a luxury brand watch expecting it to fail or fall apart,” Chicago Director of Field Operations, LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in the report. “As consumers increasingly purchase from online or third party vendors, our officers are at the frontline to guard against defrauders expecting to make money selling fake merchandise.”
In 2021, accessories and apparel made up the plurality of the CBP seizure list, making up 30% of intellectual property rights confiscations, according to the media release. Watches and jewelry were valued at the top of that list, with a total retail value of $1.18 billion.