CHICAGO–At the Chicago O’Hare’s International Mail Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers intercepted a package that contained 445 counterfeit designer products on March 18. The shipment was coming from Thailand, and had the items been real the MSRP for these products would have been $635,600.
CBP officers examined the shipment to determine the admissibility of the shipments, and discovered the box contained counterfeit designer items. Officers found:
11 Louis Vuitton Handbags
8 Chanel Handbags
11 Gucci Handbags
4 Christian Dior Handbags
1 Set of Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton Hosiery
1 Nike and Gucci Cap
131 pairs of Chanel Earrings
16 pairs of Dior Earrings
14 pairs of YSL Earrings
72 pairs of Gucci Earrings
47 pairs of Louis Vuitton Earrings
6 Louis Vuitton Facemasks
2 Louis Vuitton Wallets
2 Louis Vuitton Sunglasses
1 pair of Fendi Sunglasses
5 Louis Vuitton Pendants
5 Dior Pendants
4 YSL Pendants
1 Gucci Pendant,
24 Gucci Hairclips
5 Louis Vuitton Hairclips
19 Dior Vuitton Hairclips
52 Chanel Hairclips
The merchandise was seized for violating trademark laws. The name of the shipper was the same name as the recipient and was heading to a residence in Wichita, Kansas.
“This is just another example of the work our officers do to protects consumers and the U.S. economy,” said Shane Campbell, Area Port Director-Chicago. “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.”
The rapid growth of e-commerce enables consumers to search for and easily purchase millions of products through online vendors, but this easy access gives counterfeit and pirated goods more ways to enter the U.S. economy. U.S. consumers spend more than $100 billion every year on intellectual property rights (IPR) infringing goods, falling victim to approximately 20% of the counterfeits that are illegally sold worldwide.
Commonly, these goods are sold in underground outlets and on third party e-commerce websites. Counterfeit commodities fund smugglers and members of organized crime. Consumers often believe they are buying a genuine product but soon realize the item is substandard.
CBP Trade 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.
Every year, CBP seizes millions of counterfeit goods from countries around the world as part of its mission to protect U.S. businesses and consumers. These goods include fake versions of popular products, such as smartphones and related accessories, electronics, apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and high-end luxury goods, as well as goods posing significant health and safety concerns, such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals, bicycle and motorcycle helmets, medical devices, supplements and other consumables. Sold online and in stores, counterfeit goods hurt the U.S. economy, cost Americans their jobs, threaten consumer health and safety, and fund criminal activity. Visit the National IPR Coordination Center for more information about IPR including counterfeiting and piracy.
Nationwide in Fiscal Year 2020, CBP seized 26,503 shipments containing goods that violated intellectual property rights. The total estimated value of the seized goods, had they been genuine, was nearly $1.3 billion. CBP has established an educational initiative to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that are often associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. Information about the Truth Behind Counterfeits public awareness campaign can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/FakeGoodsRealDangers.
CBP has established an educational initiative, Truth Behind Counterfeits, to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that are often associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. The agency encourages anyone with information about counterfeit merchandise illegally imported into the United States to submit an e-Allegation. The e-Allegation system provides a means for the public to anonymously report to CBP any suspected violations of trade laws or regulations related to the importation of goods in the U.S.
CBP’s border security mission is led at 328 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. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.