POLICE SMASH DVD BURNER LAB SUPPLYING LOCAL MARKET TRADERS WITH PIRATED MOVIES

29 JULY, 2009

Over 17,000 pirated movies seized along with $10,000 cash

Sydney: On 28 July, Cabramatta Police, supported by investigators from the
Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), raided a residential
premise in Sydney’s Mount Pritchard area smashing an illegal DVD burner lab
and seizing over 17,000 pirated DVD movies and $10,000 in cash.

During a search of the residence, police discovered 35 DVD burners, capable of
producing over 882,000 pirated DVDs a year with a potential street value of
over one and a half million dollars, $10,000 cash and more than 17,000 pirated
DVDs, including copies of “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” and “Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen” both of which are currently showing in cinemas across
Australia. A 45-year-old man found inside the premises is being questioned by
Police.

The pirated DVD movies were allegedly being sold from the house to market
traders at $2 per DVD and sold on to the public at $5 per copy.

“This raid has shut down an illegal burner operation that was supplying local
market traders with pirated movies, including movies that are presently being
shown in local cinemas,” said Neil Gane, Director of Operations for AFACT. “We
commend the excellent work by officers from the New South Wales Police
Cabramatta district for their assistance in attacking piracy at its source, and
helping protect jobs and honest local businesses – times are tough enough
without them having to compete with criminals who can afford to have $10,000
cash lying around the house.”

Police enquiries into the criminal operation are continuing.

Penalties for copyright crimes are up to $60,500 and/or 5 years jail per offence.

About AFACT

AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educational institutions to address copyright theft and protect the interests of the film and television industry as well as the interests of Australian movie fans.

Australia’s copyright industries are the 3rd largest contributors as a percentage of GDP in the world, second only to the US and UK.

In 2006/07 they contributed 10.3% GDP to Australia’s economy [up 66% since 1996], represented 8% of our employment and generated 4.1% of total exports.

The film and TV industry in Australia alone contributed $4.4 billion to GDP and supports 50,000 jobs, including small businesses under threat from copyright theft, and independent cinemas, video rental stores and film and television producers across the country.

In 2007, the film and TV sector contributed an estimated $1.8 billion in tax to the Australian Government.

In 2008, state and federal police conducted 51 raids involving movie piracy and seized 544,697 pirated DVDs. They also seized 488 burners capable of producing 12 million pirated DVDs a year with a potential street value of over $61million.