More than £878,000 has been confiscated from three people from
the Merseyside area following joint operations, codenamed ‘Operation Zouk’, between Police, the Department for Work and Pensions, Liverpool Trading Standards Department, the Sefton Trading Standards Department, the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society and the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART).

All three had been involved in the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit DVDs, CDs and computer games.

Market trader Susan Roach was the subject of an investigation that began in July 2004 and involved officers from the DWP, trading standards and investigators from the film and music industry.  They concentrated attention on the Great Homer Street Market in Liverpool where Roach had been working on a stall and where, it was discovered, she was trading in counterfeit DVDs and discs.

When she was first approached, the officers discovered 40 counterfeit CDs in a carrier bag she was carrying and a further 550 counterfeit discs were found on the stall and 318 discovered in a Landrover nearby. Roach admitted she was also associated with another vehicle parked nearby and when this was searched, a further 265 discs were discovered.

After her arrest Roach’s home in Park Lane, Netherton was searched and a significant amount of discs and packaging was discovered in the garage.  A total of 2,878 discs were seized, along with labels and disc boxes.  A large number of copies of popular films, music and console games were also found. 

In June 2005 Roach appeared at Liverpool Crown Court where she pleaded guilty to 12 counts of using false trademarks, distributing counterfeit goods and dishonestly making false statements to obtain social security benefits.  She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

The North West Regional Asset Recovery Team was called in to investigate and it was found that, apart from social security benefits and a small amount earned from working in a public house, Roach had no other legitimate sources of income.  But enquiries revealed that in addition to owning her home in Park Lane, Netherton, she also owned another house in Walton and a third share of a public house in Walton.  She also had three bank accounts and during the 14 months period prior to her arrests had deposited more than £113,000 into them.

It was also discovered that in January 2005 she had purchased a house in Parkinson Road, Liverpool for £125,000 and that in November 2004 her daughter had bought another house in the same road for £120,000 using money given to her by Roach.

It was estimated that her takings from the sale of counterfeit goods on the market during that same period had been about £250,000.

At a confiscation hearing at Liverpool Crown Court the prosecution accepted that others were involved with Roach in the counterfeiting and distribution operation, but made clear that the RART investigation had clearly shown she had played a significant role in the criminal enterprise. This view was supported by the judge, His Honour Judge George who, when he gave judgement on Friday 10^th August, said that he found Roach to be an ‘unreliable and untruthful witness’ and that she had ‘a criminal lifestyle’. He also praised the RART investigation and said that ‘a great deal of resources, pertinacity and care’ had been put into the enquiry.

The judge found that ROACH had benefited from her crimes to the tune of £852,231 and that the assets she had available amounted to £242,807, which he ordered to be confiscated. He gave her 6 months to pay and said that if she failed to do so she would go to prison for a further 27 months.

In a second case concluded on 2^nd August, investigators from the DWP, Sefton Trading Standards and the music industry executed a search warrant at the home of Andrew King and Angela Jones in Dales Walk, Freshfield, Formby in July 2004.  Inside they found a computer system which was installed with hardware and software to create or copy DVDs, CDs and computer games.

They also found large quantities of master discs, blank discs, DVD and CD cases. Bags containing counterfeited discs awaiting distribution were found in a storage space behind a false wall.  The couple had been running a mail order business, taking orders over the Internet and receiving payment via PayPal, Wells Fargo and Nochex.

In July 2005 the two appeared at Liverpool Crown Court where they pleaded guilty to numerous counts of manufacturing counterfeit goods, using false trademarks.  Jones also pleaded guilty to failing to disclose a change of circumstances to the DWP. King was sent to prison for 21 months and Jones was jailed for six months.

Jones had falsely claimed more than £25,000 in benefit during the two years prior to her arrest and the North West RART enquiry revealed that she had no other legitimate form of income.  The RART investigators were also unable to find any form of legitimate income for King, yet the couple owned their £200,000 home in Formby along with two Ford Mondeo cars.  They also had a joint bank account through which unexplained deposits in the previous two and a half years amounted to £111,000.  Deposits into further accounts amounted to almost £17,000.

The hearing concluded earlier this month when His Honour Judge Duncan declared that Jones had benefited from her criminal activity to the tune of £437,725 and King had benefited to the tune of £398,256.  The judge found that both had assets available to be confiscated and ordered Jones to pay the £437,725 in full within six months or face a further three years in prison.  King was ordered to pay £198,256 within six months or face a further two and a half years imprisonment.

Speaking after the conclusion of the case against Jones and King, Andrew Naisbitt, Sefton Trading Standards Manager said, ‘Trading in counterfeit goods will not be tolerated in Sefton and all pending investigations will now be considered for possible confiscation proceedings’.

At the various proceedings, Detective Chief Inspector Mike Kellett, head of the North West RART, welcomed the judgments. He said: “The Proceeds of Crime Act is not just for drugs dealers, but it is intended for anyone who profits from their criminal acts.  Manufacturing and selling counterfeit goods cheats the public and is a crime.  These three people led comfortable lives by stealing from ordinary members of the public and we are pleased that the court has taken away from them the benefit they obtained.

“Other people engaged in the same trade should expect the same thing to happen to them and we are at the moment actively investigating a number of similar cases in the region.”

CRIME DOESN’T PAY!!

The Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) provides a multi agency approach to reducing crime through asset recovery.  The activity of the North West RART, which commenced operations in January 2004 and has so far recovered more than £10,000,000, is focused on engaging serious and organised crime that operates across individual Police Force boundaries. The RARTs are located in the West Midlands, North West, North East, Wales and London providing coverage across five of the nine Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) regions.

Each RART is staffed by financial investigators drawn from the Regional Police Forces, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) and includes a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer. The proactive use of the new powers contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is key to the units’ delivery of an enhanced response to financial investigation. This will ensure that criminal assets are identified at an early stage and recovered through confiscation orders made by the courts following conviction. This in turn reduces the funding available to finance future criminality and increases the amounts available to be recycled into law enforcement and crime reduction initiatives.