More than 200 counterfeit watches seized at Chicago O'Hare Airport by border officials
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it confiscated more than 200 counterfeit watches earlier this week at O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
Photos provided by the department show the seized watches attempting to emulate high-value models, including the Rolex Submariner, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Omega Speedmaster.
The shipment arrived from China on May 4 and was set to be delivered to an address in Bensonville, Illinois.
CBP claimed in a May 6 news release that the 243 watches seized would have a retail value of over $6.64 million if they had been authentic.
'The distribution of counterfeit goods defrauds U.S. consumers and has a significant adverse impact on businesses by robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues,' LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations for the Chicago Field Office, said in the statement.
Knock-off watch seizures continue
The knock-off watch seizure continues a pattern for CBP as it stated it intercepted 145 shipments of counterfeit watches in April at O'Hare in a statement released earlier this month.
The department said that the shipments originated from Hong Kong and China. The 516 counterfeit watches emulated brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and others.
CBP said the that the April seizures would have had a retail value of over $9.22 million if they had been authentic.
The department said that U.S. consumers spend more than $100 billion every year on knock off goods, falling victim to approximately 20% of the counterfeits that are illegally sold worldwide.
James Powel is a trending news reporter with USA Today Network. Email him at jpowel@gannett.com.
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