Over $28 million of AP counterfeits seized in Louisville
Officers from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have seized a shipment containing 200 counterfeit Audemars Piguet watches at the Port of Louisville, arriving from Hong Kong bound for Illinois.
If authentic, the shipment would have carried a total manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of over $28 million. Trade experts at CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise formally confirmed the timepieces were inauthentic before seizing the parcel for trademark infringement.
“Counterfeit goods are poor quality products costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues,” said Louisville’s port director, Philip Onken, according to CBP’s website. “Officers are trained to identify illicit shipments and work diligently for American consumers by stopping the flow of unlawful trade.”
The bust follows a similar operation at the same port last month, where federal agents intercepted 375 fake Audemars Piguet watches en route from Hong Kong to New York, valued at an estimated $54 million MSRP.
