Major pirate market raided in Argentina

16th October 2007

A Special Tactical Operations Unit consisting of 300 police officers from the Gendarmería, Argentina’s equivalent of a Homeland Security Agency, acted on several search warrants on 2nd October in the infamous “La Salada” market area in the province of Buenos Aires.

A total of 136,067 recorded CD-Rs, 273 burners, 8.6 million in-lays, 45,000 jewel boxes and 120,000 blank CD-Rs were seized by officers. Four people were arrested during the raid. “La Salada” is well known for its diverse pirating activities that include retail sales, wholesale distribution and replication labs. The authorities had already identified some organised crime syndicates that were in control of the market.

Raul Vazquez, IFPI Regional Director for Latin America, said: “We offer congratulations to the Argentine authorities and our national group Apdif Argentina for a job well done. More than one in three CDs sold worldwide is a pirate disc and we need to continue to crack down on the problem of music piracy.”