NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in New Orleans seized 180 pieces of counterfeit Cartier jewelry Thursday from a shipment coming from Hong Kong. If authentic, the jewelry would hold a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of more than $2.6 million.

The shipment was discovered in a parcel addressed to a local dealer. When CBP officers inspected the parcel, which was manifested as “jewelry accessory,” they discovered bracelets of poor quality packaged in Cartier boxes, and determined them to be counterfeit. Hong Kong has been known to be a frequent shipper of counterfeit jewelry. CBP officers around the nation, including in Philadelphia and Indianapolis have also seized shipments of counterfeit jewelry from Hong Kong.. To date, this is the largest jewelry seizure in New Orleans this year.

CBP New Orleans seized their largest jewelry shipment this year
Officers assigned to CBP New Orleans seized their largest jewelry shipment this year.

“This is another win for American consumers and retailers who would have lost significant revenue had these illegal items gotten past our borders,” said Mark Choina, Acting Area Port Director for New Orleans. “Our CBP officers and import specialists are committed to enforcing Intellectual Property Right laws, and we will continue to work with our federal and local partners to protect our citizens from this criminal activity.”

On a typical day in 2017, CBP officers throughout the nation seized $3.3 million worth of products with IPR violations. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, counterfeit jewelry seizures accounted for 38 percent of total IPR seizures, followed by counterfeit wallets and handbags. The total estimated MSRP of the seized goods, had they been genuine, totaled more than $1.2 billion. For more information IPR enforcement, visit 2017 IPR Enforcement Statistics.