Nine arrested in counterfeiting raid
6:32pm Tuesday 30th January 2007
NINE people have been arrested and thousands of DVDs seized in a raid on a County Durham village.
The operation, conducted by officers from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the police at Tanfield Lea car boot sale on Sunday, was part of a joint offensive which also saw seven people arrested in Hucknall, Nottingham.
More than 18,000 pirate DVDs were recovered in total.
The raid in Durham was a joint intelligence led operation with Durham Constabulary targeting alleged sellers of counterfeit DVDs who set up stalls on the outskirts of the weekly Tanfield Lea car boot sale.
Eight men and a woman were arrested and interviewed at local police stations and have been bailed to return in eight weeks.
In addition, seven vehicles were removed from the site by police officers and were searched. The vehicles were later returned to their owners.
Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, said: "Working with police and Trading Standards across the UK we aim to disrupt and dismantle pirate DVD trading, whether that be in car boot sales, in markets or online.
"The manufacture and selling of counterfeit film product is illegal and contributes to crime in the local community. Film piracy also feeds hundreds of millions of pounds a year into organised crime networks and has associations with other serious criminal activity."
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