Post by Tony on Jan 28, 2006 17:09:31 GMT
Greater Manchester Bollywood piracy raids yield massive counterfeit haul : 26:5:2005
UK record companies’ trade association the BPI today announced the successful completion of a series of raids on illicit Bollywood music & film retailers in the Greater Manchester area.
Large numbers of counterfeit discs were seized from the stores, with further investigations uncovering multi-disc burners and other duplication equipment hidden on the premises.
With early estimates putting the numbers of discs seized at between 15,000 and 20,000 discs, such a haul would be expected to fetch in excess £100,000 at retail. This easily makes this one of the biggest haul of its type in the region. The raids come as part of the BPI’s crackdown on Bollywood piracy.
After anonymous tip-offs to Trading Standards, BPI investigators carried out surveillance on four shops in the region with officers from Trafford, Tameside and Oldham Trading Standards moving quickly to raid the premises on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 24-25).
Investigators uncovered high-grade counterfeit DVDs of new Bollywood titles such as Waqt, Lucky, Kaal and Kiya Kool Hai Hum alongside pre-release film titles such as Star Wars Episode III.
BPI investigator Tariq Mohammed said: “This multi-agency approach to tackling crime is clearly yielding results, but too much is owed to the investigators who go beyond the call of duty to prevent this kind of illicit trade.
“Instead of supporting Britain’s vibrant Asian trade in Bollywood entertainment, these counterfeiters are lining their pockets through an illegal trade that robs the independent record labels that provide crucial investment in new music.”
“This is a massive seizure that will come as welcome news to our members. But Asian music and film piracy is widespread across the UK. I thank the Local authorities Trafford, Tameside and Oldham Trading Standards Department for their professional and outstanding assistance in clamping down on this growing problem.”
UK record companies’ trade association the BPI today announced the successful completion of a series of raids on illicit Bollywood music & film retailers in the Greater Manchester area.
Large numbers of counterfeit discs were seized from the stores, with further investigations uncovering multi-disc burners and other duplication equipment hidden on the premises.
With early estimates putting the numbers of discs seized at between 15,000 and 20,000 discs, such a haul would be expected to fetch in excess £100,000 at retail. This easily makes this one of the biggest haul of its type in the region. The raids come as part of the BPI’s crackdown on Bollywood piracy.
After anonymous tip-offs to Trading Standards, BPI investigators carried out surveillance on four shops in the region with officers from Trafford, Tameside and Oldham Trading Standards moving quickly to raid the premises on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 24-25).
Investigators uncovered high-grade counterfeit DVDs of new Bollywood titles such as Waqt, Lucky, Kaal and Kiya Kool Hai Hum alongside pre-release film titles such as Star Wars Episode III.
BPI investigator Tariq Mohammed said: “This multi-agency approach to tackling crime is clearly yielding results, but too much is owed to the investigators who go beyond the call of duty to prevent this kind of illicit trade.
“Instead of supporting Britain’s vibrant Asian trade in Bollywood entertainment, these counterfeiters are lining their pockets through an illegal trade that robs the independent record labels that provide crucial investment in new music.”
“This is a massive seizure that will come as welcome news to our members. But Asian music and film piracy is widespread across the UK. I thank the Local authorities Trafford, Tameside and Oldham Trading Standards Department for their professional and outstanding assistance in clamping down on this growing problem.”
