US reveals $2m Hermès counterfeit seizure
US customs authorities have seized nearly 200 counterfeit Birkin handbags worth around $2 million following a raid in Georgia.
The handbags, made by luxury brand Hermès, would have been worth an estimated $1,861,200 had they been genuine, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office claimed.
The seizure took place at the Port of Savannah and is the US’s third haul of counterfeit goods this year that would have been worth more than $1 million.
In July, CBP officers seized 377 cartons of counterfeit sunglasses with an estimated retail price of more than $1.6 million. Three months before that, officers seized the equivalent of more than $1 million worth of counterfeit football gear.
The handbag shipment arrived at the port in September from China. It was destined for an address in Atlanta.
Lisa Brown, area port director in Savannah, said: “Counterfeit goods pose a potentially serious safety threat to consumers and economic loss to US businesses.
“Enforcing IP rights remains a top trade priority for US Customs and Border Protection.”
The counterfeits will now be destroyed.
