PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A retail store in Philadelphia is raided and city officials say $100,000 in counterfeit Phillies merchandise has been seized.
The Department of Licenses & Inspections says that more than 3,100 hats, sweat shirts and T-shirts have been confiscated in all.
Investigators working on behalf of Major League Baseball conducted the raid Friday.
They say the Sneaker Junction store in the Old City neighborhood was running a wholesale operation behind the scenes of its retail business. Such merchandise often ends up in places like flea markets.
Officials say it's not just manufacturers who are harmed by the sale of counterfeit merchandise. They say legitimate retailers in the region also lose sales, and that hurts the local economy.
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