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The unidentified Harrisburg traveler was found with a plastic bag full of watches during a bag examination of luggage on a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Mar. 20, CBP says.
The bag contained 10 designer watches including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, and Rolex, as well as a Louis Vuitton handbag, and two pairs of Ray Ban sunglasses, a release by CBP says.
The items were suspected to be fake and were seized by CBP.
CBP’s trade experts at the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandise Center of Excellence and Expertise worked to determine the items authenticity, determining they were fakes that "violated intellectual property rights" the items were seized by CBP officers on Tuesday.
“Counterfeit consumer goods violate United States intellectual property laws, steals revenue from trademark holders, may potentially harm U.S. consumers, and are never a good thing to pack in your baggage if you are heading to a Customs and Border Protection arrivals inspection,” said Daniel Escobedo, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection remains committed to protecting U.S. businesses and consumers by intercepting counterfeit and potentially harmful goods that help fund transnational criminal groups.”
If the items have been real their value would be more than $254,000, according to CBP.
All products were manufactured in China and shipped to a vendor in Pakistan where the Pennsylvania traveler purchased them.
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