Raid yields 2800 'illegal' DS games copying kits

A Cardiff resident was last week found to be in possession of almost 3000 kits that could be used to copy Nintendo DS games.

Some 1800 game copying devices were seized in a raid on a Cardiff shop on 17 December, with 1000 more being found at a private residence, both used by the same man, said to be 21 years old, but who has not yet been named.

The raid was conducted by local police and Trading Standards officials after a tip-off from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (Elspa), who had tracked the seller through online advertisements and bought one of the devices - illegal under the Trademarks and Copyright Act, Elspa claimed - from him.

Elspa claimed the raid also netted details of how the man had acquired the gadgets: imported in four consignments, routed through Heathrow airport. Customs and Excise don't appear to have been overly perturbed at the time.

The organisation also said the raid recovered more than two years of records detailing all the buyers to whom the man sold devices capable of copying console games.