Three suspected pirates nabbed

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has hailed the arrests of three suspected pirates in Wales, saying it will cause "major disruption" to the circulation of counterfeit software, videos and music in the UK.

Two men and a woman were arrested after an investigation into copyright infringements involving the supply of master discs to the UK's piracy trade.

The three were bailed pending further examinations of computer equipment seized from an address in Cardiff.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: "This was a very professional investigation by Cardiff Trading Standards, and we expect this successful operation to cause major disruption to the supply and distribution of counterfeit masters nationwide.

"Almost every counterfeit CD, film or computer game bought in this country has involved criminal gangs at some point in the process. We urge consumers not to fund criminals by buying these fakes," Taylor continued.

Taylor was keen to emphasise that piracy can often fund other types of crime and the effect of piracy on legitimate businesses.

"Even if people buying these discs don't care about the creative people who are deprived of their living by copyright theft, or the local businesses and jobs they are helping to destroy, they should be under no illusions that they are almost certainly funding an organised criminal element who are often engaged in other areas of crime," he said.

www.bpi.co.uk

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