A shipment of counterfeit Cartier watches were intercepted by federal authorities
In August 2025 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Indianapolis seized a shipment containing designer counterfeit Cartier watches. The fake watches were worth more than $4 million and they came from Hong Kong.
On August 8th officers seized a shipment, headed to New York, which contained 30 luxury brand Cartier watches. The watches bore unauthorized versions of Cartier’s trademark, which is a federally protected trademark. Click here to see more counterfeit articles.
CBP officers at the Port of Indianapolis – with input from partners at the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts – determined the watches were not authentic and therefore bore counterfeit marks.
Had these goods been genuine, the shipment would have had a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $4.2 million.
For the last three years, the top commodities seized for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringement with the highest total MSRP have been (1) Jewelry, (2) Watches, and (3) Handbags/Wallets.
Additionally, China and Hong Kong are consistently the top two source countries for IPR seizures. In Fiscal Year 2024, seizures from China and Hong Kong accounted for approximately 90% of the total quantity seized.
Commonly, these goods are sold in underground outlets and on third party e-commerce websites. Counterfeit commodities fund smugglers and members of organized crime. Consumers often believe they are buying a genuine product but soon realize the item is substandard.
Intellectual property fraud hurts American consumers, businesses, trademark holders and people who manufacture and sell legitimate products.
Criminals sell pirated merchandise and counterfeit U.S. products around the globe. These illegal trade practices threaten the public’s health and safety, the U.S. economy and national security by introducing harmful and banned materials into counterfeit products and supporting illegal labor practices.
