Thai police raid manufacturing plant which made pirate discs after hours

5th October 2009

Thai police raided a disc manufacturing plant being used to produce counterfeit discs following a tip-off from a local rights holder organisation.

Major General Kowit Wongrungroj led a team from the Economic and Cyber Crime Division of the Thai Police in a raid on LLI Technology Company Ltd in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok.

The raid, which took place in late September, followed a two-week investigation prompted by reports from reliable sources including the Thai Entertainment Content Trade Association (TECA) that the factory was being used to produce counterfeit discs. Police surveillance confirmed the plant was being used to manufacture counterfeit discs at night.

Police first stopped and searched a car that they believe had arrived to take an early morning delivery of counterfeit discs. They found more than 1,300 pirate DVDs, 21 CD-R writer heads and 6,500 cover sheets hidden in the vehicle. The driver confessed he collected discs from the factory to distribute in the Petkasem area and was charged with copyright infringement.

Officers then stopped and searched a second vehicle. They discovered 1,890 counterfeit CDs, 4,500 pirate DVDs and 7,800 cover sheets hidden in the car. The driver confessed he also collected discs from the factory and would deliver them to customers in the Rama 5 area. He was also charged with copyright infringement.

The team then raided the factory itself and searched the premises. All the machines were switched off and there was no counterfeit product onsite, but the evidence of the two drivers was enough to allow officers to seize replicating equipment. The manager and his team were charged with illegally reproducing and selling copyright infringing products.

TECA had been alerted to the production of counterfeit discs at the factory by the forensics team at IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide. Experts at IFPI's London-based laboratory had identified the plant as the source of counterfeit discs after finding matches between the stamper marks on its legitimate product and seized pirate CDs.

Piset Chiyasak, general manager of TECA, says "The manager of this plant was working with legitimate entertainment companies by day and cynically producing counterfeit CDs and DVDs at night. The Thai authorities have shown that they take this kind of crime extremely seriously and any plant operators tempted to make illicit extra cash should be warned they are committing a serious offence."