More than 58,000 counterfeit football shirts have been seized in Edinburgh alone throughout the World Cup.
The City of Edinburgh Council’s Trading Standards Team intercepted the fake jerseys, which weigh over nine tonnes and hold an estimated genuine retail value of £5.5m.
The intelligence-led operation was carried out with assistance from Police Scotland and the National Trading Standards Intellectual Property team based in Newport.
A significant proportion of the seized haul included fake Scotland and England national team kits, alongside strips for countries such as Spain, Portugal, and France.
Brand protection experts confirmed the interception is one of the largest ever seizures of its kind in the UK.
A spokesperson for Back Four Brand Protection said: “We’ve never seen a seizure of this scale in the UK. A huge proportion of the total were England and Scotland shirts, as well as other counties such as Spain, Portugal and France.
“We estimate that this seizure represents an estimated £5.5m in genuine product.”
Unlike authentic merchandise, counterfeit shirts bypass strict safety regulations and could expose buyers to highly flammable materials and harmful toxins in dyes.
The illicit trade is also strongly linked to the funding of organised criminal networks, human trafficking, and modern slavery.
International estimates from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute value the global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods at around $467bn a year, representing 2.3% of all global trade.
The Scottish Football Association warned that the sale of fake tournament merchandise severely impacts revenues that are typically reinvested into grassroots football, charities, and community clubs across the country.
The 58,000 seized shirts will now be securely recycled after brand holders confirmed they were counterfeit.
Investigations into the source and international supply routes of the illicit goods remain ongoing.
City of Edinburgh Council regulatory convener, Councillor Neil Ross, warned that the trade in counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime.
Mr Ross said: “Our Trading Standards team have secured a tremendous result in intercepting these shirts.
“With the World Cup well underway this is a timely reminder that criminals exploit major sporting events by flooding the market with counterfeit goods to cash in on fan demand.
“Let me be clear, this is not a victimless crime. Counterfeiters undermine legitimate businesses, rip off supporters and sell products with no guarantee for how or where they were made or whether they meet basic safety standards.
“The investigations into the supply routes involved in this discovery continue but we know that this is part of an international trade in counterfeit goods and represents a significant dent to their illegitimate trade.”
