£100k fake DVDs seized in two Cannock raids
More than 12,000 fake DVDs worth £100,000 have been seized following two raids in Cannock.
Officers swooped on the car parks of B&Q and Halfords and found pirate discs being sold from the back of cars.
Two men were arrested during the raids, which were organised following tip-offs from the public.
Staffordshire Police surrounded a vehicle on the B&Q car park in Wyrley Brook, on Sunday, and arrested a 46-year-old man from Tamworth. Around 6,000 counterfeit DVDs were seized.
They then moved to the Halfords car park on Longford Island, where a further 6,000 dodgy discs were found. A 44-year-old man from Sutton Coldfield was arrested.
Among the haul of illegal DVDs seized by police and trading standards officers in the raids, were unreleased titles including Lincoln and Skyfall. The low quality, pirated copies were illegally filmed inside cinemas.
Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for communities, Pat Corfield, said today: "Counterfeiting is a serious offence – harming our economy and in most cases funding organised crime. People should not be fooled into thinking they are getting a bargain – these goods are shoddy, poor quality imitations."
The men arrested have been bailed until March 27.
Chf Insp Carl Ratcliffe said: "The public should be aware that they will ultimately lose out by buying illegal products which are often of very poor quality."
