RIAA Uses Local Cops In Oregon Raid

newtley writes "Fake cops employed by the RIAA started acting like real police officers quite a while ago — one of the earliest examples unfolded in Los Angeles in 2004. From a distance, the bust, 'looked like classic LAPD, DEA or FBI work, right down to the black "raid" vests the unit members wore,' said the LA Weekly. That their yellow stenciled lettering read 'RIAA' instead of something from an official law-enforcement agency, 'was lost on 55-year-old parking-lot attendant Ceasar Borrayo.' But it's also SOP for the RIAA to wield genuine officers paid for entirely from citizen taxes as copyright cops. Police were used in an RIAA-inspired raid at two flea markets in Beaverton, Oregon. 'Sgt. Paul Wandell, Beaverton police spokesman, said officers seized more than 50,000 items worth about $758,000,' says The Oregonian. But this is merely the tiny tip of an iceberg of absolutely staggering dimensions, an example of the extent coming in a GrayZone report slugged RIAA Anti-Piracy Seizure Information."

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[froggero1]

full article without the annoying request for info popup thing:

10 arrested in piracy raid at swap meets
CDs and DVDs - Police seize more than 50,000 items worth about $758,000
Sunday, June 10, 2007
HOLLY DANKS
The Oregonian

HILLSBORO -- Police closed down two popular swap meets Saturday and arrested 10 people on accusations of selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs in what one recording industry official called Oregon's biggest piracy raid.

Sgt. Paul Wandell, Beaverton police spokesman, said officers seized more than 50,000 items worth about $758,000. Most of the items were fake music CDs and movie DVDs, along with knockoff designer purses, sunglasses and clothing, and counterfeit brand-name toys, Wandell said.

Marcus Cohen, anti-piracy counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America, called the number of items seized at the M&M Swap Meet and Millennium Flea Market "overwhelming."

Besides being "the largest piracy raid in Oregon to date," Cohen said, Saturday's crackdown also was one of the largest operations in the country.

Wandell said Beaverton police got a tip about counterfeit items being sold at a Beaverton market in December, and the investigation led them to the Hillsboro flea markets.

Cohen was amazed by the quality of some of the bogus CDs and packaging, saying a good percentage of the Hillsboro discs were being counterfeited by a million-dollar replication machine like the music industry uses.

About 20 recording and movie industry investigators came from California to help police identify counterfeit items.

"We were surprised about the size and sophistication," Cohen said, standing in a steady drizzle Saturday afternoon at the chain-link fence that surrounds M&M. "It's something we are going to be paying very close attention to, finding who has a replication machine that shouldn't."

The names of those arrested and the charges were not immediately available. The owners of the swap meets were not arrested, but Lt. Michael Rouches, Hillsboro police spokesman, said he would ask city officials to look into revoking the owners' business license if they knew what was going on.

The flea markets are held every weekend.

Hayde Miranda, one of the M&M owners, said she didn't know any of the vendors were selling anything illegally. "It's unfortunate that some of our vendors, who are independent business owners, were selling things that were fake. We rent to them, but we have nothing to do with what they sell."

Miranda said M&M would be open today.

When dozens of police officers arrived about 12:30 p.m. Saturday to serve a search warrant at M&M, there were about 200 customers wandering booths that sell food, clothing, jewelry, trinkets, car parts, music and movies. While police blocked the entrance, a steady stream of drivers and pedestrians approached the gate at 346 S.W. Walnut St., hoping to get in and wondering what was happening.

"There were some vendors who ran and left their money behind, and some grabbed their money and booked," Wandell said. "But there were no problems, and it was very orderly."

Customers and vendors leaving throughout the afternoon as police packed up seized merchandise said they were not bothered by the raid. "The police were just doing their jobs," said a car parts vendor who didn't want to give his name. The vendors who were arrested "knew what they were doing was illegal," he said.

Wandell said customers who purchased counterfeit items would not be targeted because it would be hard to prove they knew the merchandise was fake. The CDs seized Saturday were selling for about $4.50 each and the DVDs for between $4 and $12, he said.

Fake CDs and DVDs usually have poorly printed labels, loose shrink-wrap or a different kind of covering, Wandell said. Some of the movies seized Saturday included "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which are still in theaters and haven't been released on DVD yet.

Cohen sai