Dancehall/Reggae Biggest Counterfieter Arrested

Following a year-long investigation by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), the RCMP has shut down Audiomaxxx.com Ltd., a major alleged music counterfeiting operation in Winnipeg, and filed criminal charges against four individuals.

Raj Singh Ramgotra, the principal behind Audiomaxxx, was among those arrested during the raid yesterday at the organization, it is alleged that over a period of three years Audiomaxx has manufactured and distributed pirated compact discs, hard core pornographic videos, and digital downloads worldwide.

During the raid police seized an enormous volume of suspected counterfeit goods. This includes more than 200,000 music CDs and DVDs, numerous movie DVDs and hundreds of thousands of blank discs. Police also seized five CD/DVD burning towers, each with 12 burners, which together are capable of burning well in excess of 10,000 CDs and DVDs a day. The raid also netted several computers and hard drives, two commercial CD printers, four colour copiers and other office equipment.

More than 10 police officers were involved in yesterday’s raid. “We sincerely thank the RCMP officers who have worked so hard to bring Audiomaxxx to heel, and to the federal prosecutors who have worked closely with them,” said Graham Henderson, President of the Canadian Recording Industry Association. “Today’s arrests send out a clear message that commercial piracy will no longer be tolerated in Canada.”

The operation appears to be highly developed, with a significant catalogue of allegedly pirated CDs and music downloads offered for sale via the website www.audiomaxxx.com, including copies of tracks by famous artists like Shania Twain, Lionel Richie, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Nelly Furtado.

“The RCMP has again demonstrated that it stands side by side with artists and rights holders in the fight against intellectual property crime,” said Randy Lennox, President and CEO of Universal Music Canada Ltd. and Chairman of CRIA. “CRIA has a longstanding partnership with the RCMP and other police forces in fighting piracy, and today we have taken a big step together to stop one of the most flagrant examples of its kind in Canada.”

CRIA began investigating Audiomaxxx as part of an ongoing program to deter music counterfeiting and piracy. The operation came to CRIA’s attention because of the large volume of suspected counterfeit products openly offered for sale on the Internet and the owner’s failure to stop selling these products after the issuance of cease-and-desist orders.

SOURCE: The Star

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