ELSPA crackdown
A man, who has not been named for legal reasons, but who is said to be one of the 'top chippers' in the UK, has been arrested following a raid on his house in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire where police have seized 200 chips.During the raid, plain clothed police officers also recovered 20 Xbox 360 console and four Nintendo Wii.The raid had followed months of investigations by Staffordshire Trading Standards and several test purchases undertaken by ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) IP Crime Unit investigators. One of the test purchase involved sending off a regular Xbox 360 to be chipped and the other the purchase of a pre-chipped Wii.
The man was arrested and taken to police stations in Stoke-on Trent where he assisted the police with further enquiries. A POCA (Proceeds Of Crime Act) investigation has already started to estimate the criminal gain from his illegal activities. The man has been bailed to appear before Staffordshire police at a later date.
Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA said: “This raid came as a result of a thorough and professional investigation by Staffordshire Trading Standards department and ELSPA investigators and proves that increasing numbers of games criminals are paying the price for pursuing illegal chipping business activities.”
For the full story, read the Press release
