£500,000 worth of illegal DVDs seized in raid

In the early hours of Sunday April 3 a team of anti-piracy officials swooped on illegal traders at a Staffordshire car boot sale, leading to the removal of 20,000 fake DVDs with an estimated street value of over half a million pounds.

The operation, led by Staffordshire Police and supported by ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), Staffordshire Trading Standards, FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and Customs and Excise, uncovered a total of 20 stalls at Himley, Wombourne, selling copied games, films, music, business software, 30,000 contraband cigarettes and a quantity of Viagra tablets.

Pirated copies of 'Doom 3', a title rated as suitable for adults only, was the most prevalent games title, while officers discovered a small amount of previously unseen fake Gamecube mini discs.

Roger Bennett, director general of ELSPA commented: “This case illustrates the way in which piracy poses a threat to members of the public, allowing titles containing unregulated adult-rated content to be sold illegally without the enforcement of our rigorous ratings system which is strictly adhered to by legitimate retail outlets. ELSPA would like to thank all those involved for their efforts to eradicate computer and video games piracy.”

Two people from the West Midlands area have been reported for offences against the Trade Marks Act 1994. The case is currently proceeding with the offenders now facing possible prosecution.

ELSPA (The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) represents the interests of the UK games publishers. It has a dedicated anti piracy unit with investigators based across the UK and often works closely with the Police and Trading Standards to combat computer games piracy.

(GB/SP)