Gumtree member arrested for illegally chipping consoles

The first raid of 2009 sees over one thousand illegally copied games seized.

A Staffordshire raid resulted in the arrest of an unemployed man who operated an illegal video game copying and console chipping service, selling his skills on Gumtree.com

The raid, carried out earlier this week, uncovered over one thousand illegally copied games, including 700 Xbox 360 games, 300 Wii games and 100 PlayStation 2 titles. Two Wiis and three Xbox 360s were also seized.

The 30-year-old offender made a full confession, admitting to running the illegal operation for almost two years.

Investigators had already visited the residence before the raid, handing over a console for the illegal alteration to play illegally copied games. The officers were also offered pirated video games by the offender, which were then forensically tested for evidence.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said;

"ELSPA works closely with Trading Standards across the country and we would like to thank Staffordshire Trading Standards for their excellent work in bringing this online operation to an end.

"Our team in the Intellectual Property Crime Unit will step up its fight against counterfeiters and illegal chipping services in 2009. Such illegal activity can pose real health dangers for the public and certainly deprives gamers of any proper quality control. Furthermore, it can cause the industry to lose vital income and with it jobs across the UK. "

Nigel Cotton, Senior Investigating Officer for the Staffordshire Trading Standards Department, tries to detract future criminals;

"Offenders face up to ten years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. We also pursue any proceeds of crime with a view to confiscation."