Record-Breaking $123 Million Worth Of Counterfeit Super Bowl Merchandise Seized In 'Operation Team Player'

MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) -- An estimated $123 million worth of counterfeit sports goods have been seized by federal authorities for teams playing in the Super Bowl in Miami.

In a statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said officials found more than 176,000 counterfeit sports-related items during Operation Team Player.

Agents with the Customs and Border Protection along with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and Miami-Dade officers seized the counterfeit items from flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors over the past week as part of the effort. They included fake jerseys, hats, jewelry, cell phone accessories and other items.

Some of the confiscated counterfeit items seized by federal authorities ahead of the Super Bowl in Miami. (Courtesy: ICE)

ICE shared a photo of the items, some of which had logos for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers who are set to battle it out at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday night.

Related: Complete Coverage To Super Bowl 54 in Miami

"Operation Team Player remains one of the most important national initiatives for protecting sports fans from the sale of counterfeit products and counterfeit tickets," said Dolores DiBella, NFL's vice president of legal affairs.

Efforts to bust sellers of bogus merchandise this year started at the end of last year's Super Bowl, with agents identifying possible sources of contraband.

The seizure is a 400% increase from last year's operation, which saw $24.2 million worth of fake sports merchandise taken off the streets.

(©2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.