LOUISVILLE, Ky—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville recently seized a shipment that contained 625 counterfeit Gucci shoes worth more than $450,000.
Last Friday night, October 2, CBP officers in Louisville held a shipment, manifested as cell phone shells for inspection. The parcel was inspected to determine the admissibility of its contents in accordance with CBP regulations. When the shipment was opened 625 phony Gucci shoes were found inside. The items were inspected by an import specialist who determined the items were counterfeit. If these items were real, the total MSRP for these items would have been $456,250. The shipment was coming from Dubai and was heading to an incorporated company in New York.
“Customs and Border Protection officers encounter a wide variety of counterfeit consumer goods, like these trademark-infringing products, and we continue to work with our trade and consumer safety partners to identify and seize counterfeit products,” said Thomas Mahn, Port Director-Louisville. “Counterfeiting adversely affects the ability of lawful copyright holders to profit from their original ideas. Counterfeiting also harms consumers because manufacturers of forged products have little motivation to use safe, high-quality materials in their products.”
Intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is a priority trade issue for CBP. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, CBP and their partner agency Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) seized 27,599 shipments containing IPR violations with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of over $1.5 billion had the goods been genuine. Watches and jewelry represent 15 percent of all IPR seizures, and continue to top the list of all seized IPR materials.
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's border security mission is led at 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.