Labour cracks down on illegal sales

Labour councillors are urging residents not to buy dodgy DVDs from street hawkers who sell them in pubs and cafes. This crack down follows the jailing of illegal DVD seller who operated in Brixton.

Hua Li, 21, an illegal immigrant, was sentenced to 28 days in prison at Camberwell Magistrates’ Court on Friday (April 4) after being caught by Lambeth trading standards attempting to sell fake DVDs to customers in cafes along Acre Lane.

The trade in illegal DVDs is often linked to organised crime and people smuggling.
More than 200 illegal counterfeit DVDs were seized on 3 April from Li by Ray Bouch, senior trading standards officer with Lambeth Council. Li was subsequently arrested by police and admitted under caution that he was an illegal immigrant and that he knew the DVDs were counterfeit. He refused to provide details as to who supplied them to him or distribution centre locations.

The case was fast-tracked and Li appeared at Camberwell Magistrates’ Court the following day (Friday 4 April) where the magistrate pointed out to Li through an interpreter that the reason for jailing him was to send a message to all those engaged in the sale of illegal DVDs that the courts will not tolerate such behaviour as it causes a major loss to the film industry. This tough action reflects Labour’s tough on crime policies which have seen crime fall in Lambeth for the last six years.

Councillor Sally Prentice, Labour Cabinet Member for Environment said: “Many people think buying dodgy DVDs doesn’t harm anyone and we need to get the message out that the sale of these fakes often supports organised crime. Also, many counterfeit DVDs are of terrible quality and there’s no chance of getting your money back.”

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