Officers from Castleford's NPT and West Yorkshire Trading Standards swooped on a house on Hunt Street on Thursday January 14 after a tip-off from the public who thought the house was being used to produce and distribute counterfeit goods.

The team seized computer equipment, external hard drivers and thousands of discs, including DVDs, CDs, Wii and Xbox games and more than 800 master discs which were being used to burn new ones.
A police spokeswoman said inquiries are ongoing to trace the occupant of the house.

Insp Ian Williams, of the NPT, said: "We have again shown that information supplied by the public will be turned into action.

"There are individuals who are making a living from crime. Whether it is counterfeiting, drugs, illegal money lending or any other criminal activity we should be coming together as a community to put a stop to it.

"There are various ways of contacting police including ringing in anonymously. Don't let them get away with it. You are paying for their activities in higher taxes, insurance premiums and shop prices.

"If you suspect someone is living beyond their means or involved in crime then pick up the phone and call. Together we can put a stop to this."

David Lodge, divisional manager of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "This is another great example of how joint working gets results.
"The fight against counterfeiting is a hard battle to win but operations like this on whatever scale help to demonstrate that there is a real risk of being caught and when those responsible are uncovered they will feel the full force of the law.

"Often the public don't understand the real damage caused by the illegal trade in counterfeit goods – it is a multi million pound industry which causes untold damage to the UK economy, surely something we should all be concerned about."