LOUISVILLE, Ky— U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville seized three shipments on Dec. 5 and Dec. 8 of counterfeit jewelry arriving from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Had all these goods been genuine, the shipments would have had a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of over $18.6 million.

The first two shipments arrived on Dec. 5 from Hong Kong, with one shipment heading to a residence on Staten Island, New York and the other shipment heading to Irving, Texas. Officers inspected the first parcel and discovered 400 Cartier watches, 26 Moncler hats, and 30 Chrome Hearts hats. In the second parcel, officers found eight Cartier and 13 Audemars Piguet watches. On Dec. 8 officers inspected the parcel from Taiwan and discovered 80 Rolex Cosmograph watches and 80 Rolex Day Date watches. This package was headed to Houston.

The items were seized for bearing the protected trademarks of Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Moncler, Chrome Hearts, and Rolex.  All of the items were deemed to be inauthentic by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts.

“During the holiday shopping season, it is important to remain aware that criminals try to scam shoppers into buying low quality and potentially dangerous counterfeit items,” said Director of Field Operations LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Chicago Field Office. “Our officers do an incredible job targeting shipments and identifying these violations, working tirelessly every day to protect the consumer and our economy.”

As the holiday shopping season continues, CBP reminds consumers to purchase items from reputable retailers and be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true. Counterfeit goods not only harm the economy but can also compromise consumer safety.

In fiscal year 2025, CBP seized nearly 79 million counterfeit items with a combined MSRP value of over $7.3 billion, had these items been genuine. Counterfeit clothing, consumer electronics, toys, and medications were among the top seized items.

CBP has the authority to detain, seize, forfeit, and ultimately destroy imported merchandise if it bears an infringing trademark or copyright that has been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office and has subsequently been recorded with CBP through the e-Recordation program, please visit: https://iprr.cbp.gov/s/.Other violations can include misclassification of merchandise, false country-of-origin markings, health and safety issues, and valuation issues. 

To learn more about what CBP is doing every day to protect Americans from counterfeit goods, and more about the Truth Behind Counterfeits public awareness campaign, please visit: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/fakegoodsrealdangers.

CBP protects the intellectual property rights of American businesses through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program, safeguarding them from unfair competition and use for malicious intent while upholding American innovation and ingenuity. Suspected violations can be reported to CBP here.

If you have any information regarding suspected fraud or illegal trade activity, please contact CBP through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violations Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT -IPR violations can also be reported to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center at https://www.iprcenter.gov/referral/ or by telephone at 1-866-IPR-2060.

Follow CBP on X @CBPChicago and @DFOChicago. Visit CBP’s YouTube channel to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.