US Customs decide to donate fake Giants gear

About $150,000 worth of unofficial San Francisco Giants’ gear was seized and displayed by agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies.

The federal agents seized nearly 2,400 Giants T-shirts and baseball caps, this fall, outside the AT&T Park during the team’s post-season run. The merchandise will now be donated by the US government to the island-nation of Haiti.

Assistant special agent Anthony Ho and other agents caged nearly 20 illegal vendors during the Playoffs and the World Series. Several of these vendors were gang members who carpooled to the city in vans. The gear was made in garages and sweat shops in Los Angeles for $3 or $4 each and later sold for nearly $30.

Ho said, the vendors hid the T-shirts under their long-sleeve shirts, down the pant legs, and sometimes in their underwear.

John Leonard, area port director with the US Customs, instead of getting rid of the merchandise, decided to donate them via World Vision, an organization serving poverty stricken people, the San Francisco Gate reported.