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TAMPA, Fla. - The contraband lie in heaps on the floor, piled there by more than a dozen federal and local law enforcement officials. The haul's street value was pegged at $500,000, but authorities said that's just a drop in the bucket on this front of the never-ending war on crime.
The language officers used was nearly identical to that used by drug agents, but the cache of contraband taken into custody wasn't marijuana or cocaine. It was counterfeit athletic apparel, including hundreds of NFL jerseys complete with the authentication tags, holograms and serial numbers that would lead most consumers to believe they were the genuine article. Instead of being hidden away from prying eyes, this contraband was stacked on shelves and hanging from display racks, waiting for unsuspecting buyers.
The raid was a joint venture spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) division. Tampa Police and an NFL counterfeit expert also participated in a campaign against goods geared to the shopping surge for the Super Bowl.
I.C.E. officials invited reporters along for Wednesday's raid on a kiosk in a humble cinderblock building that houses the "International Flea Market" in Tampa's Sulfur Springs area. An undercover "shopper" had spotted counterfeit goods and agents responded in an organized raid. The agents had expected it to be a small seizure. They were surprised at the huge take of counterfeit NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA jerseys and athletic shoes.
Before the raid, I.C.E. officials said that $200-300 billion worth of counterfeit goods are annually shipped into the United States. They range from cigarettes to athletic gear to electrical cords to clothing, watches and fashion accessories. Like the war on drugs, the war on counterfeiting is a holding action. A division spokesperson said that seizures of knock-off goods represent only about 15 percent of the total traffic.
"It is definitely not victimless," said special agent Fred Chow. Investigators following the money trail of knock-off goods have found profits going to organized crime.
"The proceeds are funneled to other criminal activities both here and abroad," he said.
Sales of knock-offs steal business away from legitimate retailers and jobs away from Americans, he added. The goods, he said, are produced in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and China often by workers in sweatshops.
From the NFL's perspective, knock-off goods tarnish the league's reputation and ultimately rip off consumers.
An NFL spokesman said the damage is, "to the fan who buys the T-shirt, the graphics will wash away; the local retailer who suffers lost sales." Then there's the damage to the league. "Fans associate inferior merchandise with the NFL. We don't want fans to have a poor experience with anything we do. The NFL is the gold standard."
Other leagues and manufacturers face the same problem. Among the goods seized in Tampa Wednesday were knock-off Air Jordan sneakers that were selling for $35 — far below the price of the genuine article. Every fake shoe sold is money out of Nike's coffers, and when the shoes fall apart, the manufacturer's reputation is tarnished.
Even to semi-discerning eyes, knock-offs may appear legitimate. In another raid on Monday in a shop in Tampa's Ybor City tourist area, knock-offs were being sold mingled in with legitimate NFL-licensed products. The knock-offs have tags that look official and special holograms that are supposed to indicate the genuine article.
But, Chow said, if consumers were to check the serial numbers on the holograms, they will find that the number is the same on different articles. On official articles, every number is unique to the item to which it is affixed. The counterfeiters may also make spelling mistakes. On one alleged Steelers throw-back jersey, the counterfeiters spelled Pittsburgh as two words — "Pitts Burgh." That, Chow said, would be an easy giveaway. Another tag misspelled "football." But the spelling mistakes are in the fine print that customers normally don't even look at and go unnoticed, he added.
Official league articles can be pricey. Throwback jerseys go for $350, and a retailer can make good money by selling fakes for less than $100. But there's more wrong with the garments than just the spelling on the tags and the serial numbers, agents say.
The finish can be inferior. The garments can fall apart or fade after washing. The colors are also frequently off. The fabric is frequently of lighter weight, the stitching hastily done and the quality shoddy at best.
On a Reggie White throwback jersey seized Wednesday, the player's name as sewn on the jersey upside down.
"These people aren't graphic artists, they're con artists," the NFL spokesman said.
"This is the annual struggle that we face," he said. "The Super Bowl is a popular event for fans. It's also a popular event for counterfeiters. It is truly an ongoing struggle. These counterfeiters go from major event to major event. This merchandise is anything but a bargain."
In Wednesday's raid, agents had expected to simply seize the counterfeits in a civil action and not charge the shop owner. But when they discovered just how many fakes he had, they arrested Junior Raphael Prentice, 38, of Tampa, and charged him with dealing in counterfeit items. Authorities said they intended to return with a warrant to search another kiosk run by Prentice that sells trendy, designer women's wear.
Last year, an I.C.E. spokesperson said, the biggest single haul of Super Bowl-related merchandise in Arizona was worth $100,000. They exceeded that by a factor of five Wednesday — and the week for the enforcement teams is just beginning.
Consumers wishing to know more about counterfeit goods were advised to visit www.iacc.org, a website sponsored by a coalition of manufacturers to fight knock-off goods.
© 2009 NBC Sports.com
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