Counterfeit Watches Seized

Customs agents seized half a million counterfeit watches bearing Rolex, Cartier and Piaget names and arrested 20 people in a $10-million scheme that authorities described today as a huge racketeering operation.

The seizures and most of the arrests were carried out by 200 customs agents in several locations around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additional arrests were made in Laredo, Tex., Philadelphia and Miami. Customs Commissioner William von Raab said the enterprise imported from Hong Kong cheap imitations of name brand watches such as Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Piaget and Gucci.