 Pirated goods are often used to fund organised crime |
Fake goods estimated to be worth �1m have been seized in a raid on two houses in Renfrewshire. Trading standards officers and police swooped on the houses in Johnstone on Thursday morning. They said it was a "breakthrough" against organised crime.
The haul included computers, printers, scanners, CDs and pirate DVD copies of the latest cinema releases including the new Tom Hanks movie, The Terminal.
Operation Spiderman was the result of weeks of undercover surveillance.
'Illicit' crimes
It involved Renfrewshire Council Trading Standards, Strathclyde Police, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) and the European Leisure Software Publishers (Elspa).
The depute convener of Renfrewshire Council's regulatory functions board, Councillor John Hood, said: "Selling counterfeit goods poses a constant threat to legitimate business and can damage the local economy.
"Often profits fund other illicit criminal activities.
"This is an excellent result for our trading standards team and the police who have worked together for weeks to prepare Operation Spiderman."