A joint raid by Birmingham Trading Standards, West Midlands Police and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) on an apartment has netted an estimated 40,000 pirate DVDs.

The raid on a residential flat on Bradford Street in Digbeth revealed three rooms piled high with DVDs that are not yet in general release. The rooms covered various genres including Bollywood films, pornography, and Hollywood titles including ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’, ‘The Watchmen’, ‘He’s just not that into you’, and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Inlays from the latest and most popular films were stuck to the wall.

It is thought the apartment was used as a distribution centre. Numerous individuals are believed to have been visiting the premises to collect a supply of DVD’s they would sell on the streets. No one was at home at the time of the raid.

Public protection committee chair Cllr Neil Eustace said: “This seizure is just the latest in a series of investigations that illustrate the scale of the problem. Pirate DVDs undermine and jeopardise not only future entertainment production but also the livelihood of retailers who are already suffering due to the current economic crisis. We look forward to continued cooperation with our partners at FACT and the West Midlands Police.”

Kieron Sharp, Director General of FACT, said: “This is a substantial seizure of counterfeit discs which would have been sold in the Birmingham area, the potential gain on the sale of these discs would be over £100,000.”

“We would like to thank West Midlands Police and Birmingham Trading Standards for their continued efforts in this area.”

To report the manufacture or sale of counterfeit DVDs call the charity CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or contact your local Safer Neighbourhoods team.