On the 29th of January, a raid on business premises in Camden was carried out by officers of Camden Trading Standards, along with Metropolitan Police and an investigator from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA).

The raid resulted in the largest ever seizure of illegal game copying devices in the UK. 50 000 such devices, as well as counterfeit game console peripherals for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3, were seized and are now set for forensic examination by the ELSPA.

Before the raid was undertaken, investigators had discovered a fully operational production line, with mail sacks filled with game copying devices waiting to be delivered to customers across Europe. Despite seizure notices issued by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the company continued to trade in the illegal devices. Managing Director of ELSPA, Michael Rawlinson said today:

“Our investigators are out in force working with Trading Standards Departments across the UK, combing everything from Sunday car-boot sales to auction websites in search of counterfeiters. The devices found in Camden are highly illegal and offenders caught trading such items face criminal prosecution.

“ELSPA would like to thank Camden’s Trading Standards department and all other attending authorities for their efforts in stamping out this criminal activity which ultimately threatens thousands of jobs in the country’s games industry.”