Recent CBP IPR enforcement operation at Cincinnati and Louisville express hubs nets more than $3.4 million in counterfeit merchandise including this Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis jersey. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

(Hebron, Ky.) - Millions of dollars worth of fake NFL team jerseys have been seized at the DHL hub at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that $3.4 million dollars worth of the unlicensed apparel was recently taken into evidence at the local DHL hub, as well as at UPS’ hub in Louisville.

“CBP officers at the DHL and UPS express consignment facilities have seized more than 60,000 counterfeit items over the past nine days during this intellectual property enforcement operation,” said William A. Ferrara, CBP acting director of field operations in Chicago. “This counterfeit merchandise hurts consumers by being substandard and it hurts the U.S. economy as well. Also federal investigations have shown that some of these counterfeiting organizations are linked to other criminal enterprises.”

Various companies produce items with the trademark and names of popular teams, but they are not licensed. The counterfeit items are often inferior in quality to their legitimate counterparts and sell for a fraction of the price, attracting many consumers.

Customs agents say that China is the biggest supplier of such knock-off goods, representing 72 percent of all intellectual property rights seizures.

No arrests were announced as part of the CVG and Louisville investigations.