International music piracy ring busted

Australian Federal Police have seized thousands of pirated CDs and album covers during searches conducted at businesses and residences across Sydney.

Eleven search warrants were executed today and yesterday in connection with the alleged manufacture and international distribution of CDs on a commercial scale.

A 36-year-old Petersham man was arrested yesterday and has been charged with possessing an infringing copy contrary to Section132AJ of the Copyright Act 1968.

He was bailed and will appear before the Central Local Court on 13 May 2008.

AFP Acting National Manager for Economic and Special Operations Ray Johnson warned that the AFP was serious about combating intellectual property crime.

“The AFP is committed to working with agency and industry partners and the general public to disrupt intellectual property crimes such as music piracy and counterfeit goods,” Commander Johnson said.

“This type of criminal activity causes a significant financial impact on the affected industry, often supports organised crime and misleads the Australian public regarding the quality and authenticity of the goods they buy.”

The maximum penalty for copyright infringement offences for individuals is five years imprisonment and/or a fine of $60,500.

Please Note: Still images of the seizures will be available for the media later today. Please contact the AFP media team if you would like to obtain copies.