Coveted retro Air Jordans among 14,800 counterfeit Nike sneakers seized in California bust

Customs and Border Protection agents at the country's largest seaport seized more than 14,800 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers for trademark infringement after examining a shipment that arrived from China.

Agents at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach discovered the fake kicks in two containers that were "misdeclared as 'napkins' in a clear attempt to disguise the illicit cargo," the CBP said in a statement Wednesday.

The shoes, which were seized for infringing on a protected trademark, would have had an estimated retail price of $2,247,680 if they were authentic.

Retro classics like the Air Jordan 1s Off-White, Air Jordan 11s and Air Max '97s were among the designs targeted. Some of the shoes could go for as much as $2,000 on the online collectors scene, according to the CBP.

"These special edition Nike and retro designs are highly coveted by collectors and sport shoes enthusiasts. A legitimate pair can potentially sell for $1,500 and up to $2,000 online," the CBP said in a statement. "Consumers shopping online are eventually likely to encounter fraudulent sellers."

CBP Port Director of the LA/Long Beach Seaport LaFonda Sutton-Burke called the counterfeit shoe business a lucrative criminal industry that “becomes more profitable in markets involving successful and popular products” like Nike's Jordan brand.

"Counterfeit brand-name shoes is a multi-million dollar criminal industry. The trafficking of these items is extremely lucrative and becomes more profitable in markets involving successful and popular products," Sutton-Burke said. "CBP commits substantial resources to detect, intercept and seize illicit goods at our nation’s largest seaport."

CBP agents at the Port of New York/Newark seized a shipment containing more than 9,000 counterfeit Nike sneakers from China last December. If genuine, those kicks would have been worth nearly $1.7 million, according to the CBP.

ABC News' Jennifer Weiss Watts contributed to this report.