Thanks to the quick thinking of a steet warden, a major pirate DVD factory was discovered, inside a home in Haringey. Whilst passing by what would appear to be a normal private dwelling, the warden noticed an unusual amount of DVD packaging outside the house and reported it to the authorities. The bust resulted in the discovery of more than 50,000 films, many of which have yet to be released in British cinemas.
The local officials believe that this operation could well be part of the "Chinese crime syndicate" claiming it to be more profitable than the drug trade, they figure it was financing organised street crime in London!
"We also found boxes and boxes of DVD labels and blank discs, all of which we think were imported from China in huge numbers." He said the haul was probably the tip of an iceberg. "We believe the DVD trade has similarities with the selling of street cocaine - there are a few big players, but an awful lot of people working under them," he added. "We are going after these people and expect to make more arrests soon." |
Some of the films confiscated were: The Magic Roundabout, Are We There Yet? and Shall We Dance? This is an interesting, yet frightening analogy, comparing the illegal manufacture of DVD's as some sort of drug trade, used to finance other illegal activities. If it is true, this is quite an organised effort and as the sergeant claims, it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Source: London News
