Pirate DVD mastermind nabbed

2004-06-09 13:33

Tisha Steyn

Cape Town - Police have arrested one of the country's biggest importers and distributors of pirate DVDs in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Fred Potgieter of the SA Federation against Copyright Theft (Safact) told News24 the pirate DVD kingpin was arrested at premises of Juraan's Furniture in Mayfair, Johannesburg about 11:00. The police crime prevention unit and Safact in a joint effort raided the warehouse after receiving a tip-off from an informer.

Potgieter said it was a stroke of luck that they found the suspect at the premises. Usually a solitary worker is locked up in the warehouse of 4m by 8m where he packs the disks, which come into the country shrink-wrapped, into covers. The worker was also arrested.

Caught red-handed

"We have been trying to catch the suspect since 1999 and are very lucky to have caught him red-handed. He was caught before, but has never been convicted."

Potgieter said more than 10 000 pirate DVDs were confiscated, including 2 000 copies of the latest Harry Potter movie, which is to be released in the country on Friday.

He said importers buy the pirate DVDs for as little as R7 in Malaysia and Pakistan.

From the importer's warehouse, pirate DVDs are sold wholesale to flea market operators for about R40, and they in turn sell the DVDs on the street for R80. A legal DVD costs about R250.

"Before, nearly 90% of pirate DVDs were imported from Malaysia, but we are very concerned about Pakistan making inroads into this illegal market."

The DVDs are smuggled into the country as cargo and as hand luggage.

Potgieter said two passengers from Dubai were arrested at Johannesburg International Airport on Tuesday with 6 500 pirate DVDs in their luggage.

Potgieter said a person found in possession of illicit DVDs could face a fine of R5 000 or three years' imprisonment for each one.

He said the suspect would appear in the Johannesburg magistrate's court on Thursday.

Safact is a private company funded by the international and South African film industry. Its duty is to protect the intellectual property rights of these companies.

- News24