The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Entertainment Software Association Canada (ESAC) have issued public kudos to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and York Police for the pair’s latest efforts against the sale of pirated and counterfeit goods at the Pacific Mall in Markham, Ontario.
Raids on October 29, 2009 followed a two-month investigation into illegal activities at two retail outlets in the mall and resulted in the seizure of two autos and the home of one of the store owners. Manufacturing equipment used to make the counterfeit items was also seized, in addition to nine firearms. Three people were ultimately arrested.
Danielle Parr, Executive Director of the ESAC, commented:
Game piracy is a serious problem that costs the entertainment software industry millions of dollars each year. Law enforcement raids against notorious pirate retailers like those in Pacific Mall send a clear message that trafficking in pirated game products is illegal and will not be tolerated.
The Pacific Mall is indeed “notorious,” having been raided a host of times over the years. The RCMP seized over $800,000 worth of counterfeit DVDs in 2005 and over 49,000 counterfeit DVDs earlier this year.
Comments
Kudos for going after the creators and sellers instead of the just the end-users.
Good this is the stuff to go after, now I jsuty wish mod chips were made legal and untouchable....
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
The catch is, those stores are proabably back up and running with whole new owners. Pretty much anyone from Southern Ontario knows about this place, enforcing them is a walking punchline.
"The Pacific Mall is indeed “notorious,” having been raided a host of times over the years. The RCMP seized over $800,000 worth of counterfeit DVDs in 2005 and over 49,000 counterfeit DVDs earlier this year."
Seriously, its every few months there is a raid on Pacific Mall, it does nothing really. I go there when I need to find hard to get stuff, and there is 1000s of DVDs just lying around all burnt, while police patroll the mall.
Give them a few days and someone will have put up shop in this guys old booth selling the same crap he was.
While I always applaud the efforts to crack down on piracy, those of us who've been to Pacific Mall knows that this is all really for show.
For every store they nail, and shut down, at least one (sometimes three) other store will open, and continue like it never happened.
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons. Cause, like you're crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Hahhah, I felt compelled to comment on this one as a fellow Torontonian.
Pacific Mall is indeed notorious for this kind of stuff, and it always will be. Every time they get raided, they're back in business a short while later. It's like stepping into a Hong Kong market, where everything is really cheap and probably bootlegged.