Federal agents scooped up $21.6 million worth of professional football jerseys, hats and other items that were set to be sold to unsuspecting fans as the real deal.
The federal enforcement operation was announced Thursday at a news conference in downtown New York City, The Associated Press reported.
Most of the knockoffs hailed from overseas’ manufacturers, feds said. They also said that once the manufacturers found out the identities of the two teams vying in the Super Bowl, they rushed to put together a stash of Broncos and Seahawks gear for speedy sale.
The items entered the United States via smugglers who depended on U.S. overnight shipping companies, AP reported.
And it’s not as if football fans caught a huge price break with the knockoff gear. They only saved about 10 percent of what the genuine articles cost, federal agents said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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