Police arrests three video pirates

By: Settu Shankar
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The Chennai Metro police have arrested three persons in Burma Bazaar and Mint for selling pirated DVDs of Diwali Tamil release including Azhagiya Tamil Magan and Vel. Central Crime Branch Police had mounted a vigil in Burma Bazaar and Mint Street for the past one week.

The team noticed vendors Syed Mohammad (28) and Zaheer Hussain (35) selling pirated DVDs by hiding them in a basket of fruits. Accused Durai (36) was selling VCDs and DVDs by concealing them in an old dustbin, police said.

They seized as many as 4,375 pirated VCDs and DVDs and a two wheeler worth Rs 26 lakh. All the three were produced before the III metropolitan magistrate court in George Town on Tuesday and later remanded to judicial custody.

When police briefed the happenings to press persons, they claimed to have been successful in curbing the video piracy market in the city after seizing VCDs worth Rs 10.34 crore this year. This is an improvement on last year's figures; the city police seized about Rs 1 crore worth pirated VCDs in 2006.