The merch was fake. The busts were real.

The NYPD seized $30 million worth of counterfeit goods and collared eight illegal street vendors in the department’s latest crackdown on Canal Street, authorities said.

The takedown comes in the aftermath of recent Post stories documenting how the bogus businessmen were back out in full force and an expose on how smugglers flood Canal Street with the counterfeit swag.

Authorities put the drop on the vendors Thursday afternoon, police said, seizing a blizzard of the usual knockoff favorites: sneakers, purses, watches, bags.

The raid occurred “in response to numerous community complaints,” the NYPD told The Post.

The ongoing Canal Street saga is a cat and mouse game between cops and illegal vendors.

A massive NYPD sting in August 2022 netted as much as $2 million in knockoff designer goods on Canal Street near Broadway. But the phony peddlers popped back up in the same area within months.

In November, cops seized more than $10 million in “high-end” counterfeit goods in a sweep of knock-off purses, sneakers and other illicit goods on Canal Street. The raid led to 17 arrests, with the rogue vendors facing a top charge of trademark counterfeiting property over $1,000, a felony in the state, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

The eight vendors busted Thursday range in age from 33 to 50. The suspects all face trademark counterfeiting charges, while some are also being hit with unlicensed vendor charges. One was also charged with resisting arrest, the NYPD.