Six market traders suspected of producing and selling vast quantities of counterfeit CDs and DVDs were arrested during a series of raids co-ordinated by Greater Manchester Police as part of a wider initiative to crack down on organised crime.

The Operation, Project Gulf, led by Greater Manchester Police and its partners, will strike a blow to the counterfeit trade, especially in the run up to Christmas.

The recovered pirate CDs and DVDs – with a street value of tens of thousands of pounds – included new music releases from Rihanna, Michael Buble and The Saturdays, and movie releases Puss In Boots, yet to be released in UK cinemas, and Moneyball, which was only released last Friday. Other items retrieved include imitation firearms, knives, and Class A drugs. The suspects have been released on bail pending further investigation.

Intelligence gathered by BPI (The British Recorded Music Industry), FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), Greater Manchester Police, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), Trading Standards from Salford and Manchester, and the Department for Work and Pensions, identified a number of suspects that have been profiting from the sale of counterfeit goods at three major Manchester markets: Salford Market, Greymare Lane Market and Conran Street Market.

Joining the strikes, Government Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox said: “The Intellectual Property Office has played an important part in helping to collect the intelligence for this operation in Manchester. It is fantastic to see so many organisations working together to disrupt criminal activity.

BPI Director of Anti-Piracy, David Wood, representing the recorded music sector, said: “Physical music piracy costs the record business more than £100million per year – a significant percentage of industry revenue.”

Story filed 28.11.11