U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 108 counterfeit Super Bowl rings last month, the agency announced Tuesday.
Authentic replicas of the Super Bowl rings go for $10,000, according to the CBP, but counterfeit ones can be purchased for $25. If the rings seized last month had been authentic, they would have been worth more than $1 million.
“Customs and Border Protection officers are like offensive linemen in that both are on the frontline and work hard to protect something important. CBP officers intercept counterfeit products at our nation’s Ports of Entry before they could harm U.S. consumers or businesses,” Casey Durst, CBP director of Field Operations in Baltimore, said in a statement. “We will remain vigilant and we will continue to advance our detection capabilities in order to secure our homeland and keep our communities safe and our economy prosperous.”
The shipment of counterfeit rings originated from Hong Kong, and officers for the CBP intercepted the shipment on June 29. The agency observed that the rings were poorly made and seized the rings to confirm if they were authentic with the NFL, who deemed the rings were fraudulent.
According to the CBP, officers detained an average of $3.3 million worth of products violating intellectual property rights each day in 2017.
