Feb. 20 (UPI) — Customs and Border Protection agents in Cincinnati seized 4,000 pieces of counterfeit sports merchandise and memorabilia in 85 shipments that would have been worth more than $1.43 million if it were genuine.
Much of the fake merchandise came from China and Hong Kong, the CBP said in a release. Much of it was related to Super Bowl LIX and was seized mostly in the weeks leading up to the February 9th game, but there were fakes of other sports items, as well.
“These packages contained merchandise that infringed on the protected trademarks of professional sports teams such as Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Al-Nassr FC, Atlanta Braves, and Seattle Mariners to name a few,” CPB said in the release.
One of the shipments contained 156 Baltimore Ravens NFL jerseys and was headed to a residence in Jensen Beach, Florida. Agents determined that they were fake based on a number of factors, including a lack of fine detail in the logos and numbering, poor packaging and the use of cheap fabric. Had they been genuine, the jerseys would be worth more than $27,000.
CPB also intercepted a shipment that contained 80 Las Vegas Raiders collector coins that would have been worth $3,200 had they been authentic.
The CPB makes information available to consumers on a webpage describing how to tell if an item is counterfeit and what to do about it if they purchase one.
