Readers in the North West might find that the dodgy market stall you get your bargain CDs from at the weekend is running short of stock in the coming months. A record twenty nine people have been arrested in the UK's biggest ever operation against a counterfeit CD, DVD and computer game operation - putting an outfit generating tonnes of bootleg merchandise out of business.
After a six month investigation involving representatives from the record, film and software industries as well as police and trading standards officers, some seventeen addresses have been raided in Merseyside and Lancashire, leading to the discovery of five "major" duplicating factories. The UK's Department For Work And Pensions were also involved because it was believed many of those involved were also committing benefit fraud.
Confirming the raids, the Anti-piracy Director of UK music industry trade body the BPI, David Martin, said yesterday: "The criminal gangs that control the production, manufacturing, distribution and sale of counterfeit goods may have become increasingly organised and large in number, but so have we. By taking a multi-agency approach to tackle this growing problem, we can not only pool our intelligence and resources, but seek far stiffer penalties for those who profit at the expense of the creative industries and the taxpayer alike".