By Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterTHE RIVERTON City Landfill became the final resting place for thousands of bootleg compact discs (CDs), hundreds of audio cassettes and a few DVDs and VHS tapes yesterday.
The items had been confiscated during the course of criminal proceedings.
Yesterday's operation marked the first ever public destruction of pirated materials, which saw 4,402 CDs, 700 audio cassettes, 14 DVDs and nine VHS tapes being destroyed. The pirated materials were crushed and buried by a massive 'crusher'.
Detective Inspector Winston Lindo, head of the Intellectual Property Unit in the Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, was pleased with the historic event. "The chances of them getting back on the street are nil," said Detective Inspector Lindo.
COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS
The senior officer told The Gleaner that the pirated materials were confiscated as a result of collaborative efforts between the police and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office. He added that since January 2003, 22 prosecutions have been brought before the courts for breaches of the Copyright and Trademarks Act.
Detective Inspector Lindo said that while the public destruction of the materials was merely imitating international practice, it was also done to debunk the perception that the police are enjoying the fruits of their raids.
