Post by BPI on Sept 9, 2004 0:08:18 GMT
PR 290
2 September 2004
For Immediate Release
Ealing Trading Standards seize £8,000 of fake DVD’s
Ealing Council’s Trading Standards officers and the police seized over 2,000 counterfeited DVDs in a joint operation carried out in Southall on Friday 27th August.
Council officers have estimated that the haul is worth about £8,000, as each DVD was being sold for around £4.
Information received by Ealing Council and the police, led officers to identify four businesses in South Road and the Broadway who were trading illegally. Nearly all the DVDs that were found on sale were of Bollywood productions and some of the films had not yet been released in cinemas.
Mohammed Tariq, who is on secondment from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), to work with Ealing’s Trading standards said, “Virtually all the DVD’s that I found in the four stores were fakes. This is a growing problem and one that we’re working hard to tackle in Ealing. Many people seem to think that they are getting a bargain DVD, but often the quality is very poor. Even more of a worry is that police intelligence tells us that some of the suppliers of these DVDs have links to organised crime. So if someone buys a fake DVD it’s very likely that they are actually funding someone else’s criminal activity.”
Jan Flaszynski Community Police Officer for Southall Broadway said
"Ealing Borough Police are very pleased with the success of this enforcement operation and look forward to working in partnership with Ealing Council Trading Standards, the BPI and F.A.C.T. on further operations in the future."
This week's seizures were broadcast on GMTV presented by their consumer correspondent Lynn Faulds-Wood. In August launched the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) campaign against the booming trade in counterfeit goods, which deprives the UK economy of billions of pounds a year. It’s been estimated by anti-counterfeiting groups that nationally counterfeit goods costs the UK economy £10bn a year and 4,000 jobs.
The goods seized by the council will now be held for a month before being crushed and recycled.
- ENDS –<br>
Notes for Editors
Operation Golf was carried out by Ealing Council’s Trading Standard’s Department, BPI, FACT and the Metropolitan Police.
The inspections were carried out under the provisions of the Trade Mark Act 1994, Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and Video Recordings Act 1984.
Since April Ealing Council have identified 23 premises in the borough and seized around £11,500 worth of counterfeit goods.
Anyone who suspects that a retailer is selling counterfeit goods can contact Ealing Council’s Trading Standards Department on 020 8825 6888 or email tradingstandards@ealing.gov.uk. Fake DVDs can also be reported to FACT on 0845 6034567 and the BPI
Photographs of Mohammad Tariq of Ealing Trading Standards and (name) of the Metroplitan Police after a raid in Southall are attached
The seizure operations were broadcast on GMTV on Tuesday 31st August
For further information please contact:
Robin Das on 020 8825 8686
Fax: 020 8579 5224
dasr@ealing.gov.uk
2 September 2004
For Immediate Release
Ealing Trading Standards seize £8,000 of fake DVD’s
Ealing Council’s Trading Standards officers and the police seized over 2,000 counterfeited DVDs in a joint operation carried out in Southall on Friday 27th August.
Council officers have estimated that the haul is worth about £8,000, as each DVD was being sold for around £4.
Information received by Ealing Council and the police, led officers to identify four businesses in South Road and the Broadway who were trading illegally. Nearly all the DVDs that were found on sale were of Bollywood productions and some of the films had not yet been released in cinemas.
Mohammed Tariq, who is on secondment from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), to work with Ealing’s Trading standards said, “Virtually all the DVD’s that I found in the four stores were fakes. This is a growing problem and one that we’re working hard to tackle in Ealing. Many people seem to think that they are getting a bargain DVD, but often the quality is very poor. Even more of a worry is that police intelligence tells us that some of the suppliers of these DVDs have links to organised crime. So if someone buys a fake DVD it’s very likely that they are actually funding someone else’s criminal activity.”
Jan Flaszynski Community Police Officer for Southall Broadway said
"Ealing Borough Police are very pleased with the success of this enforcement operation and look forward to working in partnership with Ealing Council Trading Standards, the BPI and F.A.C.T. on further operations in the future."
This week's seizures were broadcast on GMTV presented by their consumer correspondent Lynn Faulds-Wood. In August launched the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) campaign against the booming trade in counterfeit goods, which deprives the UK economy of billions of pounds a year. It’s been estimated by anti-counterfeiting groups that nationally counterfeit goods costs the UK economy £10bn a year and 4,000 jobs.
The goods seized by the council will now be held for a month before being crushed and recycled.
- ENDS –<br>
Notes for Editors
Operation Golf was carried out by Ealing Council’s Trading Standard’s Department, BPI, FACT and the Metropolitan Police.
The inspections were carried out under the provisions of the Trade Mark Act 1994, Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and Video Recordings Act 1984.
Since April Ealing Council have identified 23 premises in the borough and seized around £11,500 worth of counterfeit goods.
Anyone who suspects that a retailer is selling counterfeit goods can contact Ealing Council’s Trading Standards Department on 020 8825 6888 or email tradingstandards@ealing.gov.uk. Fake DVDs can also be reported to FACT on 0845 6034567 and the BPI
Photographs of Mohammad Tariq of Ealing Trading Standards and (name) of the Metroplitan Police after a raid in Southall are attached
The seizure operations were broadcast on GMTV on Tuesday 31st August
For further information please contact:
Robin Das on 020 8825 8686
Fax: 020 8579 5224
dasr@ealing.gov.uk