Federal customs officers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport seized a shipment of counterfeit Richard Mille watches valued at more than $2.6 million in what officials described as a targeted enforcement operation aimed at stopping fake luxury goods entering the country from China.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that 11 watches were intercepted and flagged for inspection. Specialists with CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise examined the items and determined they were not authentic and bore counterfeit versions of registered and protected trademarks.
The $2.6 million figure reflects what the watches would have sold for had they been genuine Richard Mille timepieces. The Swiss luxury brand is known for producing some of the most expensive watches in the world with prices often reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per piece.
CBP Area Port Director Jayson Ahern said the seizure highlights a serious and ongoing threat tied to the global trade in counterfeit goods. He noted that profits from fake merchandise frequently flow into criminal networks engaged in money laundering and drug trafficking.
Authorities emphasized that counterfeit goods are not simply a matter of trademark violations. Officials warned that fake products are often manufactured using substandard or potentially dangerous materials posing real health and safety risks to consumers who unknowingly purchase them.
CBP officials noted that watches join a long list of commonly counterfeited items including handbags wallets clothing footwear jewelry and consumer electronics. These categories remain the highest-risk product types for counterfeit trafficking at U.S. ports of entry.
The operation at DFW is part of broader federal efforts to crack down on the multi-billion dollar counterfeit goods industry which authorities classify as one of the most profitable forms of transnational crime in the world.
Anyone with information about suspected counterfeit goods can file a report through CBP’s online e-Allegations portal or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.