U.S. seizes counterfeit shoes worth millions

A cache of fake Nike sneakers could have sold for $2.2 million if they had made it past U.S. customs agents in Los Angeles. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday it had seized more than 14,800 pairs of counterfeit special edition and retro design Air Jordan and Air Max shoes. They found the knockoffs in two containers shipped from China and marked as carrying napkins.

How lucrative is the market for fake shoes? An authentic pair of these shoes could go for between $1,500 and $2,000. Nike has released more than 30 styles of the Air Jordan since its debut in 1984, and collectors will pay big bucks for some discontinued versions. Resellers would likely try to pass off the seized shoes to customers as the real thing.

Dig deeper: President Donald Trump has made cracking down on intellectual property theft a priority in trade talks with China. Read Anne K. Walter’s report in The Stew on the downsides of using tariffs as a negotiating tactic.