Four pirate CD traders have been convicted for importing bootleg CDs into the UK from the Czech Republic. Record label trade body the BPI reckons several 100,000 CDs were sold in the South East supplied by the four pirates, who were prosecuted by the Fraud Prosecution Service. Two of the four had already pleaded guilty, while the other two were found guilty after a jury trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The guilty pirates were Wasim Mir, Ayaz Qureshi, Farhat Nissa and Mohammed Shaikh.
Welcoming the convictions, BPI anti-piracy man David Wood told CMU: "These types of counterfeits can fetch significant sums, but none of those involved in creating the music received a penny for their work. We're delighted the FPS chose to take on this case and hope that this successful outcome will serve as a deterrent to others. Brokers have a responsibility to ensure that they only deal in legitimate product and that they take precautions to ensure that they do so".
Elsewhere in anti-piracy news, the Canadian Recording Industry Association claims a police raid in Winnipeg last week resulted in the biggest piracy bust in Canadian history. Canadian officers found more than 200,000 bootleg CDs and DVDs and 100,000s more blank CDRs when they raided the offices of a company called Audiomaxx. Four people were arrested as part of the raids, and have been released pending further investigations. Graham Henderson, the boss of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, thanked the authorities for acting against Audiomaxx, saying it sent a clear signal that music counterfeiting will not be tolerated in Canada.