Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in the U.S. seized vast shipments of what appeared to be luxury jewelry by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Rolex.
The three shipments contained 2,387 rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
However, CBP's Center of Excellence and Expertise, the agency's trade experts, have now suggested the trinkets are likely to be "inauthentic".
If the luxury goods were genuine, they would have had a combined value of over $10 million.
The CBP seized the first shipment on 1 July, which came from China. It was discovered to contain jewelry bearing the trademarks of famous luxury brands. This includes 23 fake Louis Vuitton necklaces, 66 fake Gucci necklaces, and 75 fake Dior necklaces, which were heading to a residence in Brooklyn, New York.
On 3 July, law enforcement officials seized the second and third shipments, which also originated from China and were directed to Miami, Florida.
CBP officers found 78 bracelets, 42 necklaces, and 42 pairs of earrings displaying the logos of Van Cleef and Arpels and Cartier
The items, which were all uninsured, were seized by authorities for infringing on the designer's trademarks.
"These large seizures illustrate the work our officers do every day to protect our country, its citizens, and the economy," said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations, Chicago Field Office.
"Every day CBP officers are seizing these fraudulent de minimis shipments sent by bad actors. Criminals are trying to exploit the mail environment by peddling their counterfeit products.
"Even though this package had a low declared value, they pose the same potential health, safety, and economic security risks as larger and more traditional containerized shipments," he added.
The seized jewelry was all turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for "further analysis".
In 2023, CBP seized 19,522 shipments with intellectual property rights violations for an overall of nearly 23 million counterfeit items.
All three shipments were imported under de minimis regulations, which
allows CBP to pass free of duty and tax, merchandise imported by one person on one day that has an aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipments of $800 or less.
The CBP processed 139 million de minimis transactions in 2015. However,
by 2023, this shot up to more than 1 billion, representing 662 per cent growth in eight years.
In the last financial year, nearly 4 million de minimis shipments arrived at CBP facilities for review.
Border officials estimate nearly 90 percent of the shipments coming into the U.S. are now entering as low-value shipments and claim the de minimis exemption.
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Billal Rahman is a Live News reporter based in London, U.K. He specializes in foreign affairs and U.S. politics. He ... Read more
