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North West
Date: 14/11/2008
Location:Stockport, Manchester
Three men were arrested after the discovery of a large pirate DVD factory in Stockport, Manchester. Three residential addresses were searched with 79 burners found at one of the addresses. Other equipment including several thousand DVDs, including pornographic material, were confiscated.
Barry Powell and Mark Quincey, who ran a well-organised counterfeiting operation in the North-West of England were imprisoned for 12 and 15 months respectively for their role in a six-month scam that also involved an extensive benefit fraud. His Honour Judge Morrow QC also handed down a 9 month prison sentence to fellow ringleader Sarah Haynes. They operated this illegal business from their homes, supplying local markets and car boot fairs, generating in excess of £40,000 in criminal proceeds during its 6 month operation. The defendants had also claimed a total of £20,000 illegally in state benefits. The convicted may now lose all their assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act. These defendants were arrested along with 21 others as part of a massive police operation involving 135 officers, and coordinated with UK record industry body the BPI , FACT, games industry enforcement body ELSPA and the Department for Work and Pensions.
On the 5th February 2004 21 Chinese illegal immigrants tragically lost their lives whilst picking cockles in Morecambe Bay near Lancaster. Investigations by Lancashire Constabulary led the Police to addresses in the Merseyside area. Upon searching the homes Police found over 4000 counterfeit DVDs and computers containing counterfeit material. The two men were arrested for the involvement in the death of the Chinese cockle pickers and named as Lin Liang Ren and Lin Mu Yong.
On the 28th March 2006 Lin Liang Ren was charged with 21 counts of manslaughter, perverting the Course of Justice and manufacturing of false work permits. Ren was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. Due to the severity of Ren’s involvement with the death of cockle pickers the Crown Prosecutor decided that Ren would not be charged with trade mark offences.
Lin Mu Yong was charged with Assisting and Facilitation Illegal immigration and perverting the Course of Justice. Yong was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Yong also pleaded guilty to 11 offences under the Trade Marks Act of 1994 and was further sentenced to 9 months imprisonment.
Associated crime types: Manslaughter, immigration crimes, perverting the Course of Justice, manufacturing of false documentation.
