Nine arrested in Staffordshire piracy raids

A joint operation between the Staffordshire Police and UK publisher body ELSPA has resulted in the arrest of nine individuals and the seizure of UKP 250,000 worth of pirated digital media.

Part of a large-scale police operation called Operation Payback, the raid followed undercover work by an ELSPA operative who posed as a trader in order to observe the operations of the pirates.

Pirate material recovered in the raid included hardcore pornography along with software and other digital media.

"Computer and video games piracy causes massive financial loss to the industry," according to ELSPA director general Roger Bennett, "so it is rewarding to see those responsible dealt with accordingly. ELSPA would like to thank Staffordshire Police for their sterling efforts in this investigation."