Report urges more powers to seize fake DVDs

Gardaí should be given power to stop, search and seize suspected pirated goods without a warrant, government advisers said today.

A report from senior gardaí, the Revenue Commissioners and top civil servants has recommended new laws to clamp down on the white collar crime, thought to be worth millions a year to gangs.

Among its recommendations, the report says samples of pirated goods should be held back for evidence in a prosecution, the penalties for sale or supply should be increased, and gardaí and other agencies should be allowed to share information with Revenue and Social Welfare investigators.

The report by the Interdepartmental Committee to Combat DVD Piracy revealed around €8 million worth of pirated DVDs have been seized by gardaí and Customs in the last five years. Most of the contraband came from China and Malaysia.

Over the last two years markets have been targeted in north Dublin and manufacturing plants near the Border with more than ten thousand DVDs recovered and several factories shut.

Currently, piracy can lead to a District Court fine up to €190,000 or five years in jail on conviction in the higher courts.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said ordinary jobs and companies involved in film production, sale or supply were being hit by piracy.

“There seems to be a casual assumption that the only victims of this type of crime are faceless international corporations, or millionaire movie stars,” he said. “That is not the case.”

PA