Illegal vendors are back on Canal Street, hogging a 4-block stretch as cops say its a game of whack-a-mole

Bag them — for good!Illegal vendors on Canal Street are back in full force, taking over a four-block stretch with displays of knockoff designer purses and watches — as cops scramble to bust up the never-ending counterfeit chaos.Dozens of bootleg bag peddlers have set up tables and rugs on the pavement from Centre Street to Broadway, leaving only a five-foot sliver of sidewalk for pedestrians, after seemingly endless attempts to get rid of the hucksters.The cut-throat street cloggers were aggressively jockeying for space this week as they hawked everything from fake $80 “Rolexes” to $250 Dior bags and $20 Prada sunglasses.“I can’t believe this is Manhattan — it doesn’t look like it,” one local groused of the area, which looked more like the seedy streets of Bangkok than the Big Apple.Other illegal hucksters spread out their fake fashion wares on sidewalk blankets, selling knockoff Prada sunglasses and fugazi luxury bags.When a Post reporter visited Friday, an irate vendor shouted, “Get the f–k out of here!” and smacked the phone she was using to record the scene.A police officer who responded to the incident cited the vendor, who was selling knockoff sunglasses, with harassment — but made no arrests for the illegal vending.Other vendors then surrounded her, yelling.One of the vendors was also cuffed by cops on Canal Street at around 4:20 p.m.

Thursday, though it wasn’t immediately clear why he was arrested instead of others. “You didn’t see me selling nothing!” the vendor shouted as he tried to slip away from the police officer, according to footage obtained by The Post.The police officer then wrestled with the seller before restraining him between two cars.At least two other arrests were also made on the street Thursday, Post reporters observed.But law-enforcement sources said their hands are tied by New York’s “revolving-door” justice, describing the situation as a frustrating game of “whack-a-mole.” Cops can sweep t...