A two-year anti-piracy operation in Scotland has lead to the arrest of a 35-year-old man and the seizure of an estimated £250,000 worth of games, music and film discs.
Most of the counterfeit software comprised PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube titles, and there was also evidence of consoles being ‘chipped’.
Trading Standards officers worked with ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) to target five locations in Dumfries and Galloway.
As well as a shop, an Internet café and two other houses, a search of a flat uncovered a hidden staircase behind a cupboard door leading up to a secret second floor. It was here, according to ELSPA, that investigators uncovered several rooms full of state of the art copying equipment and a large amount of counterfeit software. A stash of copied discs was also found hidden in a fake partition.
‘ELSPA continues to crack down on those who seek to profit illegally from selling copied games,’ said the organisation’s deputy director general, Michael Rawlinson. ‘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.’
The seized evidence is being forensically examined and court proceedings will follow.
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