Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1998/09/29/dealer_put_in_slammer/

Dealer put in slammer for pirating CDs

Coppers swooped the Maidstone coop

By Team Register

Posted in On-Prem, 29th September 1998 09:21 GMT

A dealer pirating CD-ROMs has found himself in prison as a result of his crime. Stephen Lewis was found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court under three specimen charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 for intent to supply illegal copies of Thunder Mountain. Over £9,000 of computer kit was also seized and is now forfeit. The conviction follows a joint investigation by the Northampton Police fraud squad and the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST). The police raided a number of premises in 1996 as part of a wider operation called Gold Disk. When they searched Mr Lewis' premises, they found computer equipment to pirate CDs including the Encyclopaedia Brittanica and MS Office, together with colour covers and printing equipment. Sentencing Mr Lewis, Judge Croft QC said that a sentence of imprisonment was necessary to reflect the crime and as a warning to others. ® click for more stories