For some reason, people keep trying to sneak millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit luxury watches through Louisville, Kentucky. And as has been happening all year long, they keep getting caught.
The latest smuggling attempt involved 460 fake Audemars Piguet watches that would have been worth more than $66 million if they were authentic.
That’s right. $66 million. In fake watches.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, this is at least the fourth massive shipment of counterfeit timepieces intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville since June.
Federal Agents Seize 460 Fake Luxury Watches In Kentucky
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers at the Port of Louisville discovered the shipment on October 23.
The package, as is often the case, was shipped from Hong Kong and was headed to a residence in Texas. Inside, officers found the 460 watches bearing the Audemars Piguet trademark.
CBP trade specialists examined the watches and determined they were counterfeit, so officers seized the shipment for violating intellectual property rights.
Had the watches been real, their combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price would have exceeded $66 million. That works out to more than $143,000 per watch. Not exactly something you’d expect to find in a package headed to somebody’s house in Texas.
Louisville Port Director Philip Onken said this wasn’t an isolated incident. In June, CBP officers intercepted $54 million worth of counterfeit watches. They followed that up with another $28 million seizure in July and $43 million in August.
Federal agents in Kentucky have been finding an absolutely ridiculous number of fake luxury watches this year. Add in the latest seizure, and that’s more than $191 million worth of counterfeit watches intercepted in Louisville, Kentucky, in just a few months.
CBP Officers In Texas Also Seized Millions In Counterfeit Watches
Meanwhile, as all of that was going on, federal agents at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas have been facing a similar problem.
Also on October 23, CBP announced it had intercepted 11 counterfeit Richard Mille watches shipped from China. The watches were headed to destinations in the southeastern United States and would have been worth approximately $2.6 million if they were genuine. That’s nearly $236,000 per watch.
CBP Area Port Director Jayson Ahern warned that counterfeit merchandise isn’t just a problem for luxury brands.
“The sale of fake goods often funds criminal organizations involved in money laundering, drug trafficking, and other illicit trade,” he said. “Our CBP officers are on the front lines every day guarding against defrauders, while protecting legitimate American businesses who are often harmed by these criminal organizations.”
The agency also warned that counterfeit products can pose safety risks because they’re often made with inferior materials.
Of course, the biggest question is why counterfeiters keep shipping these ridiculously expensive fake watches through Louisville when federal agents there seem to be catching them regularly.
Then again, maybe the more important question is how many shipments aren’t getting caught.