Press release
Raids undertaken in St Helens have resulted in the arrest of seven people, one of whom had been using his house as a mini factory to manufacture illegal copied Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC games.
The raids, codenamed 'Operation Respect', were carried out on Wednesday 2nd May at 6.00am by Merseyside Police’s Anti-social behaviour Taskforce (AXIS) and targeted a number of premises known by members of the local community to be engaged in criminal activities, ranging from illegal copying of games and films (worth an estimated £150,000) to dealing in drugs, stolen motorcycles and SIM cards.
The swoop, in which four imitation firearms and eight vehicles (seven without insurance and one for ‘red’ illegal diesel were also recovered), was part of the Chief Constable’s Total Policing initiative and involved massive multi-agency effort including representatives of ELSPA, The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Trading Standards, HM Customs and Excise, Department for Work and Pensions, Truancy officers, local housing officials, Education department and Merseyside electric.
After a briefing with Police Inspector Claire Richards, investigators from ELSPA and St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Trading Standards were granted access to a property in Chiltern Road, St Helens at 7.45am, which had earlier been sealed off at both ends by police and watched over by a Force (Merseyside Police) helicopter, and where they discovered a mini copying factory and large quantities of Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC games. In addition to this a further ten exhibits of hardware, including computers, laptops and copying towers were also found.
The occupants of the house were held in a single room as a search of the house took place took place, and then taken to the local police station where they were later bailed to be re-interviewed after further evidence has been gathered from the forensic examinations of the computers.
"The theft of computer and video games software and any other multimedia product by copying it is illegal and has a harmful impact on both local businesses and communities," said Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA. "ELSPA would like to applaud the efforts of all partner agencies concerned in the St Helens raids in what has been a massive collaborative effort to stamp out not only the illegal duplication and distribution of pirated games but also reduce broader crimes including anti-social behaviour."
Chief Inspector Mark Smith, of AXIS, said: "This is another example of how AXIS works in partnership with neighbourhood officers. The size and scale of this operation sends out a clear message to those involved in anti-social behaviour - that it will not be tolerated, and to those who are suffering because of it - we are committed o dealing with it effectively and efficiently."
Andy Dempsey, Head of Corporate and Community Safety, St Helens Council said: "The Council is pleased to be able to support this multi-agency operation. Crime and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in our communities and we will act, along with our partners, on information received to enable us to tackle those who commit crime and anti-social behaviour."
