A two-year anti-piracy operation has come to a successful end with the recovery of £250,000 worth of games, music and films.
ELSPA and local authorities put an end to a two-year anti-piracy operation last Friday when four local raids were made in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, resulting in the arrest of a renowned counterfeiter, with an estimated £250,000 worth of games, music and films having been recovered.
The 35-year-old man, who had been under observation for some time, has previous convictions for counterfeiting offences and assault. The confiscated copied games included titles for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube and it was also apparent that he had been illegally 'chipping' consoles.
Raids carried out by a team of ELSPA investigators with Dumfries and Galloway police and trading standards officers took place at a number of locations: a one-bedroom flat belonging to the man, a shop, an internet cafè, and two other houses. The search in the flat uncovered a hidden staircase that led to a secret second floor containing several rooms of state of the art copying equipment and counterfeit merchandise. A safe containing jewellery and over £2,000 cash was also found, as well as a stash of copied discs behind a fake partition.
"ELSPA continues to crack down on those who seek to profit illegally from selling copied games," said Michael Rawlinson, deputy director general of ELSPA. "We would like to thank Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and Trading Standards department for all their hard work and cooperation in helping to prevent counterfeiters from undermining legitimate local business."
Evidence is now being examined and it is likely that court proceedings will follow.
