On a routine Sunday at O'Hare Airport, federal agents intercepted a shipment with more than $6.6 million in counterfeit luxury watches. The cache, originating from China, consisted of 243 fake timepieces masquerading as high-end brands such as Audemars Piguet, Rolex, and Cartier, among others. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, if these watches were genuine, they would be valued at $6.64 million.
Carried the package from China that was seized, which was watches designed to mimic the luxury of well-known brands like Breitling, Bulgari, Omega, and others, noted U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. "The distribution of counterfeit goods defrauds U.S. consumers and has a significant adverse impact on businesses by robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues," said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operations at CBP's Chicago field office, in a statement obtained by NBC Chicago.
This seizure comes on the heels of a similar incident at O'Hare, where federal agents seized over 500 counterfeit watches valued at over $9 million, along with fake driver’s licenses arriving from Hong Kong and China. These interventions by CBP serve as critical efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. market and safeguard consumers from fraudulent merchandise. Echoing this sentiment, Sutton-Burke told the Chicago Sun-Times, "CBP is the first line of defense, and our officers intercepted this threat before these fake items were introduced into the commerce and reached consumers, which provides economic security for our nation."
