More than $250,000 in Cartier jewelry was seized at Philadelphia International Airport after customs officers got word of a traveler’s shopping spree before her flight from Amsterdam even touched down.
The Pennsylvania resident landed on Sunday, October 25, and was pulled for a secondary inspection, the extra bag check travelers get sent to when officers want a closer look. She is a Global Entry member, meaning she had been preapproved as a low risk traveler allowed to move through customs faster than everyone else. When officers asked what she was bringing home, she said she had picked up a few thousand dollars’ worth of souvenirs.
She did not mention the bracelet. She did not mention the ring. She said souvenirs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection already knew better. Before she arrived, officers were told she had purchased a Cartier bracelet worth $183,818 and a Cartier ring valued at $67,811. The bracelet in the photo circulating with the story is a diamond panther cuff with blue spots and green eyes.
Officers gave her chances to come clean. She only declared the Cartier jewelry after they told her they already knew about the purchases. She then admitted she had thrown away the jewelry boxes and the receipts.
CBP seized both pieces and revoked her Global Entry membership for violating the terms of its Trusted Traveler Program. Her name has not been released.
CBP has not said who tipped officers off. Shoppers buying luxury goods in Europe can claim back the value added tax, a sales tax that runs 21% in the Netherlands, but that usually means showing the items and paperwork to customs before leaving the country, which leaves a record behind. There is no word on whether that is how this traveler got caught.
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Anyone returning to the U.S. has to declare everything bought or received abroad, gifts included. The duty free exemption for most returning residents is $800, and failing to declare or hiding items worth more than that can bring penalties. On a quarter million dollars in Cartier jewelry, the duty she would have owed was a fraction of what she ended up losing.
