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| Family made £7m in fake DVD scam | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A father and his two sons who made up to £7m from a pirate DVD scam have been jailed at Southwark Crown Court. | A father and his two sons who made up to £7m from a pirate DVD scam have been jailed at Southwark Crown Court. |
| Sami Sheikh, 28, and brother Rafi, 26, of North Chingford, east London, were each jailed for six years. | Sami Sheikh, 28, and brother Rafi, 26, of North Chingford, east London, were each jailed for six years. |
| They were earlier found guilty of conspiring to break copyright laws, trademark laws and acquire criminal property between 2003 and 2006. | They were earlier found guilty of conspiring to break copyright laws, trademark laws and acquire criminal property between 2003 and 2006. |
| Khalid Sheikh, 53, who lived with his sons, was convicted of the copyright plot and jailed for four years. | Khalid Sheikh, 53, who lived with his sons, was convicted of the copyright plot and jailed for four years. |
| Benefit claims | Benefit claims |
| A fourth man, Xin Li, 34, of Victoria Road, Walthamstow, east London, was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment, after being found guilty of concealing criminal property. | A fourth man, Xin Li, 34, of Victoria Road, Walthamstow, east London, was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment, after being found guilty of concealing criminal property. |
| Sentencing Judge Martin Beddoe said: "The evidence suggested tens of thousands of burnt counterfeit material was being produced each week in so-called factories where vulnerable immigrants from China were patently being exploited for substantial financial reward." | |
| Police caught the gang following a raid on residential and business premises in North Chingford, Harlow in Essex and Walthamstow on 13 June 2006. | |
| During the trial the court heard the gang ran a "sophisticated" operation and imported equipment from the Far East to copy new films like Ice Age 2, the Da Vinci Code and Iron Man to the "best industry standards possible". | During the trial the court heard the gang ran a "sophisticated" operation and imported equipment from the Far East to copy new films like Ice Age 2, the Da Vinci Code and Iron Man to the "best industry standards possible". |
| They ran fake DVD "factories" from various properties | |
| The gang, which employed "largely illegal Chinese immigrants", produced hundreds of thousands of DVDs in "factories" housed in several semi-detached houses across London. | The gang, which employed "largely illegal Chinese immigrants", produced hundreds of thousands of DVDs in "factories" housed in several semi-detached houses across London. |
| The DVDs were then sold on the street for as little as £3 before they were released. | |
| The father and sons, who claimed benefits, also produced pornographic and bestiality films to such an extent that some sex film shops were driven out of business, the court heard. | The father and sons, who claimed benefits, also produced pornographic and bestiality films to such an extent that some sex film shops were driven out of business, the court heard. |
| Jurors heard that while the "employees" were made to work "round-the-clock in conditions of virtual slavery", the gang took first-class flights on luxury holidays and spent money in lap-dancing clubs. | |
| Two years after opening a small shop in Walthamstow, the scam was so successful that the gang bought a £658,000 warehouse in Essex and made it the headquarters of their operation. | |
| Police believe most of the "vast" ill-gotten gains of the scam have been smuggled out of the country. | |
| Following the sentencing Det Ch Supt Nigel Mawer, from Film Piracy Unit of the Met, said: "This sentencing is the result of three years' hard work and investigation into the activity of an extensive criminal network." | |
| A confiscation hearing will take place at a later date. |