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| Sunday, 10 March 2002 |
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Pirated movie, teledrama racket bared by JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) busted a well organised racket where a businessman had amassed a fortune by counterfeiting several popular local movies and teledramas. He had also produced fake degree certificates for students seeking admission to foreign universities. The suspect was arrested at his Ja-Ela residence along with counterfeit discs (CD) by CID sleuths after raiding his house on Thursday, a police spokesman told the Sunday Observer. Police said that about 1000 pirated CDs of pornographic and popular Sinhala movies, fake degree certificates and bank remittances and several computer equipment were found at the residence. The suspect businessman was later produced before the Negombo magistrate and remanded till the completion of investigations. According to police some of those videos and CDs included popular movies like "Rosa Wasanthe" produced by Udaayakantha Warnasuriya, "Mamath Geheniyek" by Sunil Fernando, "Parliament Jokes" by Ranjan Ramanayake, "Aswesuma" by Bennet Ratnayake which are currently being screened at several theatres in the country. Other popular films included "Kinihiriyamal" and "Sadaresdaraha". Meanwhile, CID sleuths swopped on a video parlour run by the same businessman in Pettah and recovered several pornographic films. It was later revealed that the pirated movies have been distributed in areas like Moratuwa, Galle, Kurunegalla, Anuradhapura through their network of contacts. The CID sleuths are also hot on the trail of two other persons who had allegedly sold the master copies of the original Sinahala films to the suspect for a sum of Rs 10,000. The two suspects are absconding, police said. The CID is also investigating whether the CDs containing popular English movies have also been pirated by the suspect. The recent amendment to the Intellectual Property Act No 52 of 1979 gives protection against infringement of trade marks. Further investigations are being made under the direction of Director (CID) SSP, Lionel Gunatilleke |
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