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Clifford Lo

Copyright pirates have been putting fake Blu-ray labels on pirated DVDs of western movies to attract buyers, and selling them for double the usual price, according to a customs officer.
'The pirated copies are not Blu-ray discs and cannot offer high-definition images. They are standard  DVDs,' Chong Wai-ming,  commander of the Customs and Excise Department's special taskforce (operations) division said.  'By sticking fake Blu-ray labels on packaging, each copy is sold for HK$30. A pirated DVD is [normally] sold for HK$15.'
He said a genuine Blu-ray disc of a western movie was worth between HK$180 and HK$300.
Investigations indicated the pirated copies were intended to be sold to visitors from overseas, he said.
So far, no pirated discs of movies or television dramas that were truly Blu-ray technology had been found in Hong Kong, he said. A blank Blu-ray disc costs HK$30 to HK$40.
The scam was uncovered after customs officers raided eight shops in Yau Ma Tei,  Wan Chai, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long and a warehouse in Sham Shui Po, and seized HK$1 million worth of pirated optical discs between Saturday and Monday.
About 2,900 DVDs with fake Blu-ray labels were found among the 43,000 pirated  video discs. They included such movies as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,  Batman and Spider-Man.
Mr Chong said the shops had mixed pirated copies with genuine discs in an attempt to avoid detection. 'Initial investigation showed that the pirated discs were smuggled from the mainland,' he said.
Sixteen people aged 16 to 61 were arrested. One is the proprietor of one of the shops. The 12 males and four females had been released on bail pending further investigation, Mr Chong said.
It was the second such seizure this month, he said. About two weeks ago, officers arrested five people and seized about 300 pirated discs with fake Blu-ray labels in five shops.
Mr Chong said customs would continue its anti-piracy operations.



Pirates use fake Blu-ray labels to inflate price of DVDs