CBP Seizes $9 million of Knockoff Designer Watches

Image courtesy: cbp.gov

As the luxury watch business seems to ebb and flow, when it comes to knockoffs, these items just keep coming. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) was in time to nab 145 shipments of 516 counterfeit branded watches from China and Hong Kong. These multiple shipments were stopped during April 2025 at various locations around Chicago, Illinois.

The watches purported to be from labels including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet, among others. Had these items been legitimate, the value would have exceeded $9.2 million. They were deemed to be counterfeit by the CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts.

According to LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations, Chicago Field Office

“Intellectual property theft threatens America’s economic vitality and funds criminal activities as well as organized crime.. . Our employees are dedicated to protecting private industry and consumers by removing these kinds of goods from our commerce.”

Also seized in the Chicago area were 340 shipments containing 4345 fake driver’s licenses. Michael Pfeiffer, Area Port Director, Chicago, stated:

“These counterfeit driver’s licenses can lead to disastrous consequences. Foreign Terrorist Organizations, criminal organizations, and persons involved in fraud schemes use these counterfeit IDs to avoid attracting attention to their illegal activities. Our CBP officers were able to identify these very realistic counterfeits and stop them from reaching their destinations.”