PIRATES WALK THE PLANK

RANDBURG SUN

FEBRUARY 13, 2004

By Vanessa Papas

A warehouse in Strijdom park, home to thousands of pirated DVDs, computer and PlayStation games, was raided by the Randburg Reaction Unit resulting in three arrests.

The stock, originally from Malaysia, was smuggled into the country via Joburg International Airport and boasted a street value tipping thousands. According to Inspector Edwin Hyde, the bust followed an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public who claimed he saw two workers locked in the warehouse in Hammer Avenue for the entire day.

"We went there thinking we would make an arrest for unfair labour practice and instead found two women aged 20 packing shelves full of pirated DVDs, computer and PlayStation games," said Hyde.

The owner of the warehouse (aged 33 and originally from Iran) was no stranger to the Reaction Unit who issued him with a warning several months ago for selling pirated goods at the flea market at The Brightwater Commons.

He allegedly tried to wangle his way out of an arrest by bribing the officers on duty - offering them R40 000 to let the case slide. The man's offer was unsuccessful and he was arrested, along with his two employees on charges of dealing in counterfeit goods and bribery.

The arrests marked just another step towards winning the fight over piracy - a fight the South African Federation against Copyright Theft (Safact) and police have been vigorously attacking.

Opie Potter, operations manager of Safact, said in the last six months more than 100 000 pirated DVDs had been confiscated and destroyed.

"The manufacturing and sale of pirated DVDs is on the increase and costs the movie industry millions every year," said Potter.

"It costs R10 to make a pirate DVD and between R2,50 and R3,50 to make a fake PlayStation game. The markup is phenomenal making this a lucrative business for criminals. Despite the fact the DVDs and games are pirated, the quality of the sound and picture is amazing, so people still buy them.