MIAMI -- While shoppers were out purchasing Christmas gifts for loved ones this holiday season, authorities in South Florida were busy on Monday cracking down on counterfeit merchandise being sold to unsuspecting customers.

Hundreds of phony Fendi bags and belts were confiscated from two different spots at the Miami Merchandise Mart after a state attorney's investigator doing some holiday shopping with his girlfriend got a look at one vendor's high-priced products.

"We saw the merchandise (and) we suspected it was counterfeit," Paul Myers said.

Investigators loaded trash bags filled with the knock-off merchandise into the back of two minivans and the bed of a pickup truck. Among the items confiscated were a Fendi bag and wallet one woman purchased for $890.

"She thought she was buying a name-brand quality item, (but) she was buying garbage with a fake name put on it," Myers said, adding that he thought the dollar amount of confiscated items would be in the hundreds of thousands.

Bootleg Movies, Music Confiscated In Broward County

A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy patrolling a shopping center during the holiday season crime crackdown discovered a bootleg DVD movie business operating in the parking lot of the North Lauderdale WalMart on Dec. 6.

BSO Deputy Caleb Ballinger noticed two men handing out business cards in the parking lot, soliciting sales for their Street Pirates business. In fact, the deputy was even handed a card by one of the men, according to the BSO.

Authorities said Richard Gordon, 22, and Kevin Higgins, 27, were in possession of unauthorized copies of DVD movies -- some which have not even been released yet -- and CDs. The two were allegedly operating the illegal business out of Higgins' 2003 Honda Pilot sport utility vehicle.

According to the BSO, two DVD/CD duplicating machines powered by a voltage inverter were in the back of the SUV. More than 1,100 DVDs, 285 CDs and 90 music videos were seized. The total retail value was placed at $26,600.

Also recovered were two backpacks, each containing a ski mask, gloves and weapons, according to the BSO. One bag had a large knife in it and the other contained a semiautomatic handgun.

Both men were arrested and charged with six counts of possessing and counterfeiting audio-visual articles. They posted bond Dec. 8.