U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) played serious offense during Super Bowl XLII as they seized more than 9,500 pieces of fake clothing and sports memorabilia valued at nearly a half-million dollars.

What a haul – signed NFL jerseys (one of them retailing for more than $2,000) bearing the purported autograph of New England quarterback Tom Brady, Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Ronnie Lott and other famous athletes…counterfeit NBA and Major League Baseball Association jerseys…fake designer handbags and watches.

These were just some of the 9,500 pieces of clothing and sports memorabilia, valued at nearly a half-million dollars, seized by ICE agents and officers from the Glendale and Phoenix police departments. The crackdown, a week-long enforcement blitz targeting the sale of counterfeit sports merchandise during Super Bowl XLII, was a big win for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They also arrested 24 individuals who now face charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The ICE-led enforcement effort, which also included investigators under contract to the NFL, focused on counterfeit items being sold by stores and street vendors across the Phoenix metropolitan area. Acting on a tip, ICE agents and an NFL investigator descended on a sports memorabilia store in Glendale, Arizona, where they seized an array of counterfeit items.

The seizures were part of a crackdown on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in the Phoenix area leading up to the recent Super Bowl championship game.

One of the tip-offs to the phony goods was the NFL hologram attached to the items. The authentic hologram is three-dimensional when rotated; the fake ones were flat and colorless.

According to authorities, including ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers, ICE agents usually work events such as the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the World Series and the NBA Finals because they are major magnets for IPR fraud.

Troy Henley, deputy special agent who heads the Phoenix ICE office of investigations, said, "When consumers get something that is cheap and not (official), then they're getting ripped off. If they're paying $120 (for a jersey), then they expect to get [a] genuine [product]. Criminal organizations are the ones that ultimately end up with the money."

In fiscal year 2007, ICE partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize nearly $200 million in counterfeit or pirated merchandise nationwide. During that same period, ICE and CBP made more than 13,600 IPR seizures, resulting in 241 arrests, 149 indictments, and 134 criminal convictions. ICE also manages the National IPRs Coordination Center, which plays a pivotal role in the US government's domestic and international law enforcement attack on IPRs violations.

ICE investigations focus not only on keeping counterfeit products off U.S. streets, but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.