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West Midlands
Date: 24/11/2008
Location: Midlands
Four people have been arrested and 8,500 counterfeit DVDs, including pornographic material, seized after search warrants were carried out at four houses in the Midlands. The raids were conducted following a lengthy intelligence enquiry into the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit digital media in the Leicestershire area. Four males were arrested at addresses in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Along with the discs other equipment seized in the raids included 16 burners, several hard drives, printers and multiple memory devices. Contraband cigarettes were also recovered during the raids.
Three men have been jailed for their part in running a DVD counterfeiting factory, following an investigation by FACT and Birmingham Trading Standards. Jin He, aged 28, and Wen Yi He, aged 26, were each sentenced to 15 months in prison and Feng He, aged 26, was given four months. All three pleaded guilty to offences under the Trade Marks Act at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 28th April 2008.
In a joint operation between FACT, Trading Standards and the West Midlands Police, a counterfeiting operation was found at a house in Hubert Road, Selly Oak. Thirty DVD burners were being used to produce thousands of counterfeit discs, some not yet released in cinemas, as well as large quantities of pornographic and Bollywood titles.
The three men, all Chinese nationals of no fixed address, were arrested at the premises. Officers later discovered a distribution centre at a nearby house in Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak.
It is estimated the loss to legitimate business was in excess of £200,000, the court heard. The £4,000 cash seized at Hubert Road was ordered to be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
On 24th March 2008 officers from Warwickshire Trading Standards and Police Services attended a Bank Holiday Market in Warwickshire. Whilst there, they identified a stall selling counterfeit clothing, razors and DVDs. The 4 stallholders were arrested and 4,500 counterfeit DVDs were amongst the items seized.
Date: 28/07/2007 Location: Brownhills, West Midlands
A Police and Trading Standards led operation on Brownhills Market resulted in four males being arrested for selling counterfeit DVDs from their stalls. Upon their arrest, one of the males tried to resist and ended up assaulting one of the police officers. He was also arrested for this offence.
