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For some reason, smugglers keep trying to ship their fake designer jewelry, watches and sports memorabilia into the United States simply by mailing it here. And they aren’t small shipments that might go unnoticed either.
Case in point: earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the El Paso port of entry seized a shipment of counterfeit designer jewelry with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $9,222,800, had the items actually been real.
The fake jewelry was in a consignment shipment that sent from China to a residential address in in El Paso. Inside the shipment were 1,708 pieces of jewelry including rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. They were all made to look like pieces from the Alhambra line of luxury brand Van Cleef & Arpels.
Customs and Border Protection, along with the trademark holder, determined that the items were fakes and they were seized on April 21. The shipment had been manifested as accessories and bracelets with a worth of just $15,480.
“CBP officers inspect arriving international parcels for a variety of reasons to include protecting American consumers from potential safety violations and rooting out counterfeit goods that may be supporting an underground economy that thrives on deception and exploitation. Buying counterfeit luxury jewelry may seem like a bargain, but it may also be fueling criminal enterprises involved in money laundering, forced labor, and even organized crime,” said CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha. “Counterfeit goods are generally poor-quality products that cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues.”
SMUGGLING BLING🚨 CBP officers at an El Paso port of entry seized a shipment of counterfeit jewelry coming from China. According to CBP, had the jewelry been the "real deal," it would've been worth $9.2 million. 📷: CBP https://t.co/IUZCIpzQAY pic.twitter.com/HMoeXDe0Tx
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) April 22, 2025
This past February, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati seized 85 shipments containing over 4,000 pieces of counterfeit sports merchandise worth more than $1.4 million. Earlier that month, CBP agents in Indianapolis seized $5 million worth of fake designer jewelry.
Those busts paled in comparison, however, to the amount of fake designer jewelry and watches that CBP officers in Louisville seized around Christmas of last year. Had those items been real, the watches, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $18.81 million.