LOS ANGELES: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $1.2 million in counterfeit Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Omega watches at Los Angeles International Airport.
The 215 pieces, which had arrived from China via air cargo, would be worth $1.25 million if sold as genuine at suggested retail prices, the CBP said. The CBP officers discovered the counterfeit merchandise after inspecting the shipment manifested as “watches,” with a declared value of $173 and weighing 68 pounds.
Approximately $1.26 billion worth of counterfeit goods originating overseas was seized by CBP in 2012. Watches and jewellery represented 8 per cent of those seizures.
