CINCINNATI, Ohio — U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Cincinnati recently seized three separate shipments containing jewelry that would have been worth nearly $11 million, had the items been authentic.
According to a news release, one lone shipment would have been worth nearly $9 million had the bracelets manifested as Cartier items been genuine.
The first seizure occurred Sept. 6, when officers intercepted a large shipment of roughly 700 counterfeit Cartier “Love” bracelets that would have had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $8.8 million, but investigators found that the bracelets lacked fine details, were constructed from cheap material and contained fake inlaid diamond. The shipment, en route to an Illinois business, originated in Hong Kong, the agency stated.
Meanwhile, two additional shipments of counterfeit merchandise were discovered the same night. Both freight shipments originated in China.
According to the CBP, the first shipment, en route to a Colorado residence, contained 60 Cartier bracelets and rings along with other brand name jewelry such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Bvlgari. The second shipment contained four Cartier “Love” bracelets, some with what appeared to be inlaid diamonds, and was en route to a New Jersey residence.
Had the items seized in the two shipments been authentic, the combined manufacturer’s suggestd retail price would have been nearly $2 million, the agency stated.
“While online shopping has increased, CBP stays vigilant by stopping illegal shipments like these from damaging our economy,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the agency’s Chicago field office, said in a prepared statement.
“Officers at the Port of Cincinnati are always on the lookout to uphold our mission of protecting the American borders from dangerous people and materials,” Sutton-Burke added.
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