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Bognor bootlegger banged up

By | Published on Wednesday 4 December 2013

Copyright

A man from Bognor has been handed an eighteen month prison sentence for running a bootleg CD and DVD operation and possessing what has been described as “one of the largest ever hauls of hi-tech equipment for use in copyright theft ever found in the UK”.

After raiding Keith Tamkin’s base on Bognor High Street and his home in nearby Felpham two years ago, police found more than 100 full computer hard drives, an estimated 150,000 CDs and DVDs, and eight ‘multiple bay burning towers’. It is thought Tamkin could have been illegally distributing copies of up to 25,000 albums, films and games.

Tamkin pleaded guilty to possessing the bootlegging kit, distributing copyright material without licence, money laundering and possessing two prohibited weapons, a pepper spray and a stun gun.

The anti-piracy unit of record label trade body the BPI worked with police on its investigation into Tamkin’s operation, and its boss David Wood told CMU yesterday: “I would like to thank Sussex Police for co-ordinating efforts to disrupt this prolific production of counterfeit music, film and game repertoire. This case was significant in that it was one of the largest ‘domestic factories’ uncovered to date in the UK. It had the capability of manufacturing and distributing counterfeit product on a truly commercial scale”.

Meanwhile Detective Inspector Chris Neilson of the Sussex Police Economic Crime Unit added: “Detectives and financial investigators from our unit worked closely with the BPI and were able to establish Tamkin’s full role in this case. Co-operation and support from the BPI was key to the success of this investigation and shows how law enforcement and trade groups can work together to help safeguard the legitimate interests of business”.

He went on: “Intellectual Property crime and associated offences of money laundering will be pursued by Sussex Police in a co-ordinated way with partners involved in tackling IP crime, including the Intellectual Property Office, in order to disrupt this type of criminality. We will now be seeking a court confiscation order against Tamkin under the Proceeds of Crime Act to take back for society his criminal profits”.



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