NEWS
11.04.08 Illegal discs impounded on Brazilian border
Officials have discovered a smuggling ring that imports CDs from Uruguay to sell in the pirate markets of Brazil. Investigators uncovered the trade in blank discs in the duty free shops of the border town of Rivera in Uruguay. The smugglers sourced blank discs from the free port of Montevideo and used the duty free shops as distribution points. This allowed the pirates to evade import duties on both sides of the border and increase their profits by at least 50 per cent.
Uruguayan Customs officials worked with Apdif Uruguay, the local industry anti-piracy group, to raid the shops during October. The raids led to the seizure of a shipment of 750 000 blank DVD-Rs which had left Montevideo without proper documentation about its destination and content. A further raid, carried out in conjunction with the Brazilian authorities, in the city of Santana do Livramento across the border, led to the seizure of 257 000 blank CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. The blank discs were destined for the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in a touring bus belonging to the musical Brazilian group "Toque Fandangueiro".
Documents seized along with the cargo indicated that these discs allegedly originated in Miami. The authorities are now conducting a follow-up investigation and customs officials will initiate administrative audits on suspect duty-free shops that will probably lead to further search warrants and raids.
