Seized counterfeit goods heading to Lake in the Hills, Customs and Border Protection says – Shaw Local

Some of the $2.88 million worth of counterfeit items that U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted last month are heading to Lake in the Hills, the federal agency said this week.

In January, the Chicago branch found an average of about one shipment per day of counterfeit products, according to a news release. A total of 29 shipments with a collective value of $2.88 million were seized, including items such as counterfeit shoes, wallets, designer clothes, handbags and jewelry.

A shipment seized Monday at an express consignment operations center near O’Hare International Airport contained more than $713,000 worth of counterfeit Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Versace bracelets, rings and necklaces, the agency said.

This cargo arrived from Israel. The agency said others contained counterfeit products from China, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico and Israel.

Jewelry, which includes rings, necklaces, bracelets and watches, was the most commonly found item, the statement said. Counterfeit designer handbags and clothes were also prevalent.

The shipments headed to various cities in the United States, including Joliet, Lake in the Hills, and Chicago.

Information about these seizures has been passed to Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, and the investigation is ongoing, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said. , Steven Bansbach.

“These are important seizures for [Customs and Border Protection] but, unfortunately, CBP officers see counterfeit shipments like this every day,” Chicago Field Operations Manager LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of these officers’ determination to stop illicit shipments and our commitment to protecting the American economy.”

The rapid growth of e-commerce has given counterfeit and pirated products more ways to enter the United States, according to the statement. American consumers spend more than $100 billion each year on products that infringe intellectual property rights.