A 36 year old man from Belfast has been charged with two offences related to counterfeiting after a proactive police operation yesterday. The man will appear at Newtownards Magistrates Court on 11 January.

Two other men,aged 32 and 41, are still being questioned by detectives from the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch.

The operation, which involved searches in Newtownards, Belfast and Downpatrick, was a joint initiative between PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch, FACT (the Federation Against Copyright Theft) and the British Phonographic Industry.

Police recovered counterfeit CDs and DVDs worth in the region of £50,000 during the operation yesterday.