February 20 (UPI) – Customs and border protection agents in Cincinnati handled 4,000 pieces of counterfeit sports merchandise and memorabilia in 85 shipments that would have been worth more than $ 1.43 million if it really was.
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 usually seized in the weeks prior to the competition of 9 February, but there were also counterfeits of other sporting goods.
“These packages contain merchandise that infringed 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,” said CPB in the release .
One of the shipments contained 156 Baltimore Ravens NFL Jerseys and was on the way to a home in Jensen Beach, Florida. Agents found that they were fake based on a number of factors, including a lack of fine details in the logos and numbering, poor packaging and the use of cheap fabric. If they had really been, the sweaters would be worth more than $ 27,000.
CPB also intercepted a shipping with 80 Las Vegas Raiders Collector coins that would have been worth $ 3,200 if they had been authentic.
The CPB makes information available for consumers on a web page that describes how they can tell if an item is falsified and what to do when they buy one.
