Officers of the Fiscal Control Police (PCF) and Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) seized fake shirts from the Costa Rica National Soccer Team that were for sale at three different stores at the Juan Santamaria Airport.

Irving Malespín Muñoz, chief of the Fiscal Control Police, stated that the inspection was done with the help of specialized personnel that confirmed the articles were not original; the forged shirts were being sold to national and foreign tourists for the same price as an original shirt , ¢48,000 (approximately US$85.00).

In total 76 shirts were seized in three stores, Colibri, Green Trails and Terra Verde, as a possible violation of Law number: 8039 of Procedures and Observance of the Intellectual Property Rights.

Malespín confirmed they acted after receiving two reports, one presented by the company that has the exclusivity rights for the manufacturing of the shirts, New Balance, and another one filed by the Costa Rican Soccer Federation for the forgery of the entity’s logo.

“The shirts are being sold at the price of an original shirt, being a forged item. The concern is that there’s a large number of tourists that visit the country and acquire these articles and we can’t guarantee the quality of the same”, added Malespín.