A family from Waltham Forest who produced fake DVDs have been convicted. (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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A family from Waltham Forest who produced fake DVDs have been convicted.
9:29am Thursday 9th July 2009 in
A FAMILY used slave labour to produce fake DVDs in the largest illegal operation of its kind uncovered in western Europe.
Houses throughout Waltham Forest were turned into factories where illegal Chinese immigrants worked around the clock to supply street sellers with films.
The operation was masterminded by Sami Ashgar-Sheik with the help of his brother Rafi and father Khalid.
With money from their father, the brothers set up Samrana Ltd, a business selling blank DVDs and CD storage.
The company became the front for the counterfeiting operation and Sami set up a number of factories capable of producing hundreds of thousands of illicit DVDs.
The workforce was organised by gangmaster Chinese national Xin Li, who had paid £20,000 to enter the UK illegally.
The family were placed under surveillance when a parcel containing DVD master copies was intercepted by customs.
The conspiracy began to unravel when police discovered a large DVD factory on the Kimberley Industrial Estate, in Cheney Row, Walthamstsow.
Officers discovered £106,000 in cash during a raid on the Ashgar-Sheik brother’s house in Larkshall Road, Chingford, and a further £24,000 at Li’s house in Victoria Road, Walthamstow.
Equipment was also seized at premises in Leyton and Walthamstow.
Sami, Rafi and Khalid were all found guilty of money laundering on Wednesday, June 8.
Sami was also convicted of conspiring to produce pirate DVDs.
Xin Li, also known as Jerry Li, 34, of Victoria Road, Walthamstow, was found guilty of concealing the proceeds of crime.
The men are due to be sentenced on July 28.
Comments(25)
JonathanB
says...
10:06am Thu 9 Jul 09
Walthamstow noob
says...
10:57am Thu 9 Jul 09
Walthamstow noob
says...
11:00am Thu 9 Jul 09
spacefan09
says...
2:46pm Thu 9 Jul 09
s and sexual assaults or am i totaly missing the point
Fresh Gravee
says...
2:54pm Thu 9 Jul 09
I wondered what had happened to Mr. Khalid.
Walthamstow noob
says...
3:03pm Thu 9 Jul 09
Techno2
says...
3:41pm Thu 9 Jul 09
spacefan09
says...
5:15pm Thu 9 Jul 09
Techno2 wrote:read what you wrote again and tell me if it makes sense
You would understand the point if trying to do business on the High Street. The highly visible presence of these (and other) gangs is a daily advert to anyone who cares to take advantage of it that the police have lost control of the main public areas in Walthamstow and that organised criminality can be carried on with impunity. Not surpisingly, this is a factor in investment (and hence employment) decisions people make in the Walthamstow area.
Techno2
says...
5:44pm Thu 9 Jul 09
spacefan09 wrote:Crime is bad for business and jobs. Failure to deal with it gets noticed - by criminals and investors. More crime is encuoraged. Investors leave the area. Leave the gangs to take over the streets and the economy suffers. Unemployment therefroe rises. Sorry if my long sentences are difficult for you, but it makes sense to me.
Techno2 wrote: You would understand the point if trying to do business on the High Street. The highly visible presence of these (and other) gangs is a daily advert to anyone who cares to take advantage of it that the police have lost control of the main public areas in Walthamstow and that organised criminality can be carried on with impunity. Not surpisingly, this is a factor in investment (and hence employment) decisions people make in the Walthamstow area.read what you wrote again and tell me if it makes sense
Walthamster
says...
6:21pm Thu 9 Jul 09
Criminals are selling illegal goods openly on the High Street. This makes it look as if the area is run by criminals. This, in turn, frightens off people who might have opened shops (or done other legitimate business) in the area. By bringing the local economy down, this puts local people out of work.
Seeing criminals openly operating also makes this a less welcoming place to live or shop.
I would add that it's not a question of 'nice' DVD-sellers instead of 'nasty' violent criminals. As the article said, the DVDs were produced by slave labour. Organised crime (including this) is at the heart of the drug trade, which fuels violent crime.
spacefan09
says...
6:29pm Thu 9 Jul 09
Techno2 wrote:no problem. even though you could have just wrote that in the first place.
spacefan09 wrote:Crime is bad for business and jobs. Failure to deal with it gets noticed - by criminals and investors. More crime is encuoraged. Investors leave the area. Leave the gangs to take over the streets and the economy suffers. Unemployment therefroe rises. Sorry if my long sentences are difficult for you, but it makes sense to me.
Techno2 wrote: You would understand the point if trying to do business on the High Street. The highly visible presence of these (and other) gangs is a daily advert to anyone who cares to take advantage of it that the police have lost control of the main public areas in Walthamstow and that organised criminality can be carried on with impunity. Not surpisingly, this is a factor in investment (and hence employment) decisions people make in the Walthamstow area.read what you wrote again and tell me if it makes sense
and i think what you just said is more of an opinion than a fact,even though you probably don't see it most investors are "probably" involved in crime themselves
spacefan09
says...
6:50pm Thu 9 Jul 09
Walthamster wrote:yes that is true ..even though it doesn't make it right can you not see this country is basically run on crime.fraud for one (mps expenses)
Spacefan09, I'm not sure what you didn't understand. But to summarise Techno2's comments, which are true:
Criminals are selling illegal goods openly on the High Street. This makes it look as if the area is run by criminals. This, in turn, frightens off people who might have opened shops (or done other legitimate business) in the area. By bringing the local economy down, this puts local people out of work.
Seeing criminals openly operating also makes this a less welcoming place to live or shop.
I would add that it's not a question of 'nice' DVD-sellers instead of 'nasty' violent criminals. As the article said, the DVDs were produced by slave labour. Organised crime (including this) is at the heart of the drug trade, which fuels violent crime.
?
you need to start at the top for things to change
Silversurfer
says...
9:51am Fri 10 Jul 09
Pathetic! And merely giving asbos shows how weak our immigration service is. I would round up all illegals and put them all on the next flight back to their home country without leave to appeal.
Walthamster
says...
12:05pm Fri 10 Jul 09
MPs' expenses annoy me, but they don't directly make my everyday life more dangerous or difficult.
Local crime does affect my everyday life. And when everyone sees the police ignoring open crime, it encourages worse criminals including street robbers.
Javed Nagini
says...
4:54pm Fri 10 Jul 09
The FACT linked the chinese members and family together and made them guilty in order to claim back the money they had lost. Police officer do do a good job, but here they have shown how low they can stoop by placing two very intelligent young entrepreneurs into prison for something they have not done.
The chinese man found guilty admitted not being involved with the family, but only went to their shop to purchase blank media. How could someone be jailed for having a good business?
It is like selling cutlery (eg knife) in good intention and being resposible for the murder which the knife was used for. How can you tell someone is buying things for illegal purpose?
I wonder who is pulling the strings.
We should have pictures of all the detectives involved up there, not of ppl who havent commited any crime other than hard work.
Ridiculous.
Silversurfer
says...
5:11pm Fri 10 Jul 09
What a refreshing change -or were they just having a day off?
Fresh Gravee
says...
5:40pm Fri 10 Jul 09
Javed Nagini wrote:Being good Muslims they would tell you that wouldn't they?
I personally know the family. They were wholesalers of blank CDs and DVDs, key suppliers to the whole of UK. They did not deal with any fake goods. They had been investigated by the FACT since 2005. FACT and the Metropolitan police spent over 4 million pounds on the case. They did not find anything illegal, however during this time raided 4 chinese premises with illegal goods. These chinese had no connection with the family. They may have been customers buying legal blank media.
The FACT linked the chinese members and family together and made them guilty in order to claim back the money they had lost. Police officer do do a good job, but here they have shown how low they can stoop by placing two very intelligent young entrepreneurs into prison for something they have not done.
The chinese man found guilty admitted not being involved with the family, but only went to their shop to purchase blank media. How could someone be jailed for having a good business?
It is like selling cutlery (eg knife) in good intention and being resposible for the murder which the knife was used for. How can you tell someone is buying things for illegal purpose?
I wonder who is pulling the strings.
We should have pictures of all the detectives involved up there, not of ppl who havent commited any crime other than hard work.
Ridiculous.
mdj
says...
8:57pm Fri 10 Jul 09
4:54pm Fri 10 Jul 09
I personally know the family..'
Presumably you said all this in court, Javed: how did the jury take it?
Techno2
says...
9:36pm Fri 10 Jul 09
Silversurfer wrote:Maybe they were on a break. I spotted two of them, one of the women and a tall lad, who seems to onl have been on dvd duty for the last few weeks.
WOW! I sat outside a cafe in the High St. today and did not see one dvd seller where normally there are at least 4 at work. Only the gang leader, easily recognised as the organiser, but never selling, walked past. What a refreshing change -or were they just having a day off?
Javed Nagini
says...
10:23am Sat 11 Jul 09
It would have been good if more people attended this trial instead of listening to things advertised. So you could have a true say, not just believe what you read.
I was there on behalf of the prosecution but got to know the family and the judge himself admitted that the two seperate cases were put into one. But at the end of the day it is what the jury decides, not what the judge decides.
The only evidence found was a list of films all in chinese, and the sons did not write this, because they are not chinese.
Being Muslim has nothing to do with this, so it is good if you put racial comments aside. But however it might have been the reason they got convicted, as there were a majority of white jurys.
I was only putting forward the true side of the story, but it is your opinion to beleive the lies the police have spread so they are not seen negatively for spending so much money and not getting anywhere.
Silversurfer
says...
12:13pm Sun 12 Jul 09
Yesterday, Saturday,
I saw the gang leader walking down the market while 2 of his team were carrying their bags of dvd's in sight of the market inspectors!
The female market inspector was sitting at stall too busy discussing what colour to dye her hair next to take any notice.
Bentley005
says...
8:08pm Sun 12 Jul 09
Fresh Gravee
says...
3:26pm Mon 13 Jul 09
You are luck that you have not been done for contempt of court for ruining the trial.
namsu
says...
10:19pm Fri 24 Jul 09
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Sami Asghar-Sheikh
Rafi Asghar-Sheikh
Xin Li, also known as Jerry Li
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Techno2 says...
9:36am Thu 9 Jul 09