March 24, 1999
Ten thousand illegal CDs with a street value of UK £150,000
were seized and two men arrested in raids at a record fair held at the
Birmingham NEC last weekend. The operation was a result of close cooperation
between enforcement bodies, involving CDs manufactured in Sweden and en route,
via the UK, to continental Europe.
The CDs were bootleg live recordings of acts ranging from Nirvana to the Spice
Girls. As a result of the raids, involving investigators from the UK and
international record industry organisations BPI and IFPI, a German trader was
on March 23 charged for importation of illicit recordings and remanded in
custody. He will appear in court next week.
Iain Grant, head enforcement for IFPI, said: "This is an excellent example of
the international coordination that is now essential in the fight against
piracy. We are determined to build on this success by tracking global music
pirates wherever they operate."
David Martin, head of operations at the BPI, said: "I am extremely pleased
with the success of these operations which have resulted in the recovery of
vast amounts of illegal product. The BPI fully intends to increase
surveillance of computer fairs and we welcome the cooperation from our
international colleagues of IFPI to achieve this."