Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/02/03/elspa_gaming_raid/

Investigators claim UK's largest 'illegal game copying device' haul

50,000 units found

By James Sherwood

Posted in Personal Tech, 3rd February 2009 08:02 GMT

A raid on a London-based business has resulted in the discovery of what's claimed to be the UK’s largest ever haul of illegal game-copying devices.

ELSPA_gaming_devices

Seized

Around 50,000 devices and counterfeit games console peripherals for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were allegedly found at the unnamed business premises in Camden, North London.

Among the goods said to be found by police were mail sacks filled with game-duplication devices thought were awaiting dispatch to gamers across Europe.

A team from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) made several “test purchases” from the business' website, prior to the raid. That’s despite government body HMRC issuing various copyright and trademark infringement notices to the company's online arm over the past 12 months.

ELSPA MD Michael Rawlinson dubbed the devices “highly illegal” and claimed that their production and sale “ultimately threatens thousands of jobs in the country's games industry”. ®