China smashes a disc pirating group

BEIJING - The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications on Friday announced a successful anti-piracy case in which more than 600,000 pirated video discs were confiscated.

A 10-member group suspected of producing and selling the items was broken up as well, according to a statement from the office.

Police in the city of Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu province were tipped off by a street vendor, who informed them of an illegal wholesale facility for pirated discs in the city's Jiangning district.

A special investigation team consisting of members of the city's police and cultural and copyright authorities was formed, leading to the closure of two illegal wholesale markets and the arrest of seven suspects.

An interrogation of one of the suspects and an analysis of data on confiscated computers revealed an illegal disc-production facility in the city of Yantai in East China's Shandong province. The investigation team coordinated with Yantai police to shut down the facility, as well as the group suspected of running it.

Initial estimates state that the amount of money involved in the case may reach 50 million yuan ($7.87 million).

The statement called on relevant authorities nationwide to learn from the case and intensify their efforts to trace pirated goods and their producers.