Toronto police seize $3.5 million worth of knock-off soccer jerseys

A quantity of counterfeit FIFA merchandise seized as part of a Toronto Police Service investigation is shown. (Toronto Police Service)

Toronto police have announced the largest seizure of counterfeit soccer jerseys in Canadian history, with more than $3.5 million worth of goods recovered.

At a news conference on Monday, investigators revealed that they received information from Toronto law firm Lipkus Law LLP on May 12 about a warehouse in Mississauga which contained suspected stolen goods.

Police executed a search warrant at that property two weeks later and seized more than 16,000 fake jerseys with FIFA, Nike, Adidas, and Puma branding, as well as flags and two counterfeit FIFA World Cup trophies.

Police said two suspects, 41-year-old Milton resident Ramy Jaber and 62-year-old Mississauga resident Walid Sarhan, supplied retail stores with the fraudulent merchandise through a legitimate trading company. Customers of those retailers were then charged full price, thinking the products were legitimate.

Some of the seized items were displayed by police at Monday’s news conference. They include fake Team Canada, Argentina, Portugal and Croatia jerseys. Some fraudulent NFL jerseys were also seized.

“So folks are walking into retail stores thinking that they’re buying an authentic piece of, say, a jersey or sporting equipment. They’re paying full price as they would if it was authentic, but they’re getting a fake counterfeit,“ Supt. David Ecklund said.

The news comes less than two weeks before Canada hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first-time ever, starting with Team’s Canada June 12 match in Toronto.

Ecklund said that counterfeit merchandise is a “known concern” during major sporting events.

“For criminals, it’s a crime of opportunity because they know people want to support their favorite team and will prey on that excitement. Often, proceeds of this crime fuels organized crime, including human trafficking,” he said.

This a breaking news story. More details to come.