Counterfeit goods seized from Rochdale shop

Just some of the counterfeit stash seized by the team

Public protection officers from Rochdale Council have seized £40,000 worth of counterfeit DVDs and CDs from a shop in Rochdale.

The haul, containing a whopping 3,500 DVDs and 500 CDs, was uncovered at the store in Tweedale Street after test purchasing exercises uncovered the scam.

The team also took away computer equipment which had been used to illegally copy films and music.

Nicola Rogers, acting head of public protection at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Counterfeiting comes in many forms. People might film while they’re in the cinema, download from an illegal file sharing website or rent a film and copy it onto blank discs to sell on.

“People might think that buying a cheap CD or DVD isn’t harming anyone, but the link between counterfeiting and organised crime is well established. Next time people are tempted by a good offer, we’d ask them to think again; you could be harming your community.”

The public protection team has now launched an investigation into the shop.

Key signs that a DVD or CD may be counterfeit include a disc that will be purple in colour on one side and packaging which is missing key pieces of information like the age classification.