Spanish Police Arrest 57 Sub-Saharans in DVD Pirating Ring

Text of report by Spanish newspaper ABC website on 11 May

Seville: The National Police have broken up a network which makes pirate copies of CDs, DVDs and famous brand clothing in an operation in which 57 people from Senegal, Gabon, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire were arrested in Madrid, Malaga, Granada and Marbella. The National Police said in a statement yesterday that 10 searches had been carried out in these provinces in which 20,000 CDs, 25,000 DVDs, 500 video games, 9,000 recordable DVDs and about two tonnes of counterfeit clothes and accessories with brands like Dior, Gucci and Armani were seized.

In the searches, in which the members of the network were arrested, one of the arrested tried to escape by throwing himself off a balcony.

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