Director of Field Operations Chicago

No tricks, just treats—and authentic goods! 🎃👻 This Halloween, CBP officers are hard at work intercepting counterfeit costumes, unsafe holiday items, and illicit goods before they can reach store shelves and deceive consumers. Whether you’re trick-or-treating or handing out candy, we’re committed to keeping U.S. supply chains and consumers safe. Have a fun and safe Halloween from all of us at CBP! 🛡️🍬 #CBP #HalloweenSafety #IPR #BrandProtection #TradeEnforcement

CBP officers have intercepted a massive haul of counterfeit luxury goods! 🚫👜 The recent seizure included a wide array of fake high-end designer merchandise—from Louis Vuitton handbags, Gucci bags, and Chanel shirts to Coach wallets, Dior apparel, and luxury footwear—totaling an estimated domestic value of $101,157.92. Counterfeit goods harm legitimate businesses, deceive consumers, and fuel illicit economies. CBP remains steadfast in enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR) to keep unsafe and fake goods out of the U.S. marketplace. 🛡️✨ #CBP #CounterfeitSeizure #IPR #IntellectualProperty #BrandProtection #TradeEnforcement #ProtectConsumers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently intercepted a massive shipment of illicit goods and fraudulent documents with a total estimated value of $181,189.74. The diverse seizure included: 👜 Luxury Goods & Designer Purses: High-end counterfeit bags and wallets from brands like Chanel, Goyard, and Louis Vuitton. 👟 Apparel & Footwear: Counterfeit jerseys, jackets, shirts, and shoes (Adidas, Nike, Chrome Hearts, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, and more). 🕶️ Accessories: Counterfeit luxury sunglasses, jewelry, and socks. 🪪 Fraudulent Documents: Multiple counterfeit Mexican driver's licenses and voter ID cards. 🚬 Tobacco: Undeclared commercial quantities of cigarettes. Counterfeit goods cheat honest businesses, fund illicit criminal networks, and often bypass health and safety regulations. CBP officers remain vigilant at ports of entry to protect American consumers and enforce intellectual property rights every single day. 🛡️💼 #CBP #TradeEnforcement #CounterfeitCrackdown #IPR #BorderSecurity #ProtectConsumers #Customs #LawEnforcement

CBP officers assigned to the Port of Chicago recently intercepted and seized a shipment of DJI-branded drones valued at $479,850.70 within a Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) warehouse. The shipment was mis-manifested and brought into the FTZ without the required entry filings. Because these products are subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), the merchandise has been turned over to CBP’s Fines, Penalties, and Forfeiture (FP&F) for final disposition. Enforcing the UFLPA and protecting American supply chains from illicit trade remains a top priority for our personnel. 🛡️📦 #CBP #PortOfChicago #UFLPA #TradeEnforcement #BorderSecurity #SecuringTheBorder

⚾The Chicago Field office is joining the excitement as the Milwaukee Brewers make their run in the World Series. Different Cities, Different Teams, but a shared love of baseball. Let's Go Brewers! 💙💛 ⚾

Time is up for fake luxury! 🛑⌚ When a shipment manifested as cheap "hardware" with a declared value of just $100 caught the attention of Indianapolis CBP officers, it led to a massive discovery during a random enforcement examination. Inside, officers uncovered 300 counterfeit "Audemars Piguet" luxury watches. Confirmed by our Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), these items featured inferior craftsmanship and infringed on registered trademarks. Thanks to rigorous trade enforcement, this massive counterfeit haul—with a total estimated MSRP of $12,000,000.00 USD—was successfully seized. Why do we stop this? Counterfeit luxury goods deceive consumers with poor quality, fund underground criminal networks, and undermine legitimate businesses. Staying vigilant at our ports of entry ensures that intellectual property theft is stopped in its tracks. 💪🔒 Read more at go.dhs.gov/5rS (Note: The photo shown depicts just one of the intercepted shipments.) #CBP #IPR #Counterfeits #BrandProtection #TradeEnforcement #AudemarsPiguet #LuxuryFakes #IndianapolisCBP

From high-end timepieces and designer handbags to luxury apparel and footwear, intellectual property theft hurts legitimate businesses and deceives consumers. CBP trade enforcement and import specialists work around the clock to intercept counterfeit goods at our borders. When counterfeiters try to smuggle fake Rolexes, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Nike, and other luxury brands into the stream of commerce, CBP stops them in their tracks. Why IPR Enforcement Matters: Counterfeiting isn't just about fake logos—it fuels illicit economies, undermines American innovation, and often funds transnational criminal organizations. By seizing these fraudulent goods, CBP protects consumer safety, upholds fair trade, and defends intellectual property rights. 🇺🇸🔒 #CBP #IPR #TradeEnforcement #Counterfeit #ProtectOurEconomy #CustomsCompliance #BrandProtection

Fair trade relies on compliance, honesty, and a level playing field. CBP recently concluded a major trade enforcement investigation targeting the illegal circumvention of Section 232 steel tariffs. Importers attempted to dodge duties by falsely misclassifying raw, unfinished steel tubes as finished landing gear parts using deceptive documentation. CBP trade enforcement specialists caught the scheme, recovering $3,199,334.77 in evaded revenue across 255 entries and initiating civil penalty actions under 19 U.S.C. § 1592. Why is this so important? When bad actors use fraud and misclassification to evade tariffs, it directly undercuts law-abiding American manufacturers, distorts the domestic market, and harms fair competition. CBP is committed to safeguarding our nation's economic security, ensuring that trade laws are strictly enforced, and protecting domestic industries from unfair trade practices. 🇺🇸⚙️ *Illustrative stock photo #CBP #TradeEnforcement #Section232 #EconomicSecurity #CustomsCompliance #MadeInAmerica #SupplyChain

Stopping transnational criminal networks at our ports of departure! 🛑📦 Recently, HSTF Indianapolis and CBP Newark officers and task force officers thwarted a major outbound smuggling attempt, seizing 12,704 pounds of marijuana hidden in a shipping container destined for the United Kingdom. Through the relentless dedication of our frontline personnel, advanced targeting, intelligence, and vital interagency partnerships, our Area of Responsibility successfully intercepted 27,570 lbs. of outbound marijuana in FY26, surpassing last year’s total of 22,471 lbs. Nationwide, CBP seized nearly one million pounds of narcotics in FY2026, dismantling illicit supply chains and protecting our communities from transnational criminal organizations at every angle. 🇺🇸💪 #CBP #BorderSecurity #DrugInterdiction #LawEnforcement #NationalSecurity #Indianapolis #Newark #OperationResults

All that glitters isn’t gold when it’s a million-dollar fake! ✨🛑 CBP officers at the Port of Cincinnati recently unmasked a major intellectual property scheme. A business-to-person shipment traveling from China to Colombia was mis-manifested with a declared value of just $201.00. When x-ray exams proved inconclusive, a physical inspection blew the cover: officers uncovered a large box containing 225 pieces of counterfeit Cartier jewelry! Evaluated by our expert Import Specialists, the items lacked fine details, proper routing, and quality packaging. The final appraisal revealed a jaw-dropping $1,419,400.00 MSRP (domestic value: $3,955.25). The counterfeit goods have been officially seized and turned over for storage, keeping illicit knock-offs out of the global supply chain. 💪🔒 (Note: The photo shown depicts just one intercepted counterfeit shipment.) #CBP #IPR #Counterfeits #BrandProtection #TradeEnforcement #Cartier #LuxuryFakes #CincinnatiCBP

Protecting public health and safety at ports of entry! 🛑📦 Across 8 separate enforcement actions, CBP officers in Chicago intercepted a massive haul of unapproved Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), totaling a staggering $3,255,378.00 in illicit vaping products. Why do we stop this? Unregulated, unverified e-cigarettes and vaping products entering the country completely bypass critical federal safety standards and FDA oversight. Buyers and consumers have no way of knowing what is truly inside these devices—frequently exposing users to unknown toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and dangerously high, unverified levels of nicotine. These products pose severe health risks, particularly to youth and young adults, including acute poisoning and long-term respiratory damage. Keeping dangerous, unverified goods out of our communities is a vital part of our mission to safeguard public health. 💪🔒 (Note: The photo shown depicts only 2 individual items of the intercepted shipments.) #CBP #PublicHealth #ConsumerSafety #BorderSecurity #ENDS #VapeSafety #TradeEnforcement

Protecting fair trade and economic security through rigorous compliance! 🚢🔍 During a recent physical exam, CBP personnel discovered shipments of tantalum tubes declared as "waste and scrap" (HTS 8103.30.0000 / Duty Free). However, a closer look showed the items were in complete form with complex inner base metals rather than scrap material. After submitting sample tubes to our Chicago Laboratory, it was confirmed: these are not scrap. As a result, 87 entries from Japan were found to be misclassified and properly belong under HTS 8103.99.0000 (Duty Rate: 4.4%). Thanks to thorough enforcement and review, $1,518,482.24 has been successfully recovered from the importer, ensuring fair competition and revenue protection for the U.S. Great work by our import specialists and laboratory scientists! 🤝📈 (Note: The photo shown is for illustrative purposes and does not depict the actual item.) #CBP #TradeEnforcement #CustomsCompliance #ImportSafety #SupplyChain #TradeCompliance

Protecting public health and safety at the border! 🛑📦 Across 89 separate shipments, CBP officers in Cincinnati recently intercepted a massive wave of smuggled, unapproved GLP-1 and peptide products, totaling $280,106.20 in illicit pharmaceuticals. Why do we stop this? Unregulated, unverified peptides and weight-loss drugs entering the country bypass critical FDA oversight, sterility checks, and quality controls. Buyers have zero guarantee of what is actually inside these unapproved vials—risking contamination, incorrect dosages, severe side effects, and dangerous health consequences. Keeping unapproved, potentially toxic drugs out of our communities is a vital part of our mission to safeguard American consumers. 💪🔒 (Note: The photo shown depicts just one of the 89 intercepted seizures.) #CBP #PublicHealth #ConsumerSafety #BorderSecurity #GLP1 #Peptides #PharmaceuticalSafety

Cargo deception exposed! 🛑📦 A commercial parcel originating from Hong Kong, was mis-manifested and valued at just $20.00—while weighing in at a highly suspicious 43.8 kilograms. When CBP officers inspected the two boxes, they uncovered a massive haul of counterfeit designer clothing, shoes, and luxury jewelry mimicking top brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga, Burberry, and David Yurman. Why do we stop this? Counterfeiting is not a victimless crime. Illicit knockoffs undermine legitimate businesses, fuel underground criminal networks, and deceive consumers with inferior craftsmanship and zero quality control. Stopping intellectual property theft is a critical part of protecting our economy, fair trade, and American consumers. 💪🔒 #CBP #IPR #Counterfeits #BrandProtection #TradeEnforcement #BorderSecurity #CustomsCompliance #LuxuryFakes

Protecting public health and safety at the border! 🛑📦 Across 28 separate seizures, Chicago CBP personnel recently intercepted a significant volume of smuggled, unapproved Human Growth Hormone (HGH), totaling a staggering $457,040.00 in seized illicit products. Why do we stop this? Unregulated, unverified pharmaceuticals entering the country pose severe, life-threatening risks to consumers. Illegally imported HGH bypasses critical FDA oversight and quality controls. Buyers have no way of knowing if these substances are counterfeit, contaminated, or improperly dosed—risking severe side effects, cardiovascular damage, hormone imbalances, and long-term health consequences. Keeping dangerous, unapproved drugs out of our communities is a vital part of our mission to safeguard American consumers. 💪🔒 (Note: The photo shown depicts just one of the 28 intercepted shipments.) #CBP #PublicHealth #ConsumerSafety #BorderSecurity #TradeEnforcement #Pharmaceuticals #HealthProtection

Protecting fair competition and enforcing U.S. trade laws right from the frontline! 🛡️⚖️ Through diligent investigative work by CBP’s Chicago Field Office and Base Metals team, authorities successfully uncovered significant antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) evasion. Investigators found that a company evaded AD/CVD and Section 301 duties on Chinese-origin seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line, and pressure (SLP) pipe by transshipping the goods through Thailand to bypass regulations. As a direct result of these targeted enforcement actions, CBP successfully recovered $1,467,383.00 in lost revenue, leveling the playing field and holding bad actors accountable to protect American industries. 📦🇺🇸 (Note: Photos used are for illustrative purposes only and do not depict the actual merchandise.) #CBP #Chicago #TradeEnforcement #EAPA #FairTrade #EconomicSecurity #Customs #SteelPipe #Compliance