 Thousands of counterfeit DVDs have been recovered in Edinburgh |
More than 31,000 counterfeit DVDs and 100,000 cigarettes have been seized during raids on Edinburgh homes. The operation, led by Edinburgh Council Trading Standards and customs officers, found one of the biggest ever hauls of counterfeit goods in the city.
Officers believe the goods were intended to be sold in pubs and workplaces across the city by Mandarin-speaking street peddlers.
One third of the DVDs are pornographic and carry an R18 certificate.
DVDs carrying an R18 rating are only permitted to be sold through licensed sex shops.
The rest of the DVDs were current cinema releases such as Chicken Little, Two for the Money, Broken Flowers, Domino and Memoirs of a Geisha.
Councillor Robert Cairns, Edinburgh City Council's environment leader, said counterfeiting cost the taxpayer millions of pounds in lost revenue from legitimate sales.
"The council is appealing directly to city residents not to buy counterfeit goods under any circumstances as it may directly contribute towards funding criminal organisations.
"Trading Standards will continue to take robust enforcement to deal with this type of criminal activity," he said.
Officers warned the products would be "extremely poor quality" and likely to be filmed from the back of a cinema.
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The council is appealing directly to city residents not to buy counterfeit goods under any circumstances as it may directly contributes towards funding criminal organisations
