TWO Essex men could face police charges after nearly £1,000-worth of fake DVDs were seized from a Suffolk car boot sale.Undercover trading standards officers and uniformed police carried out the sting at Needham Lake, in Needham Market on Saturday .

TWO Essex men could face police charges after nearly £1,000-worth of fake DVDs were seized from a Suffolk car boot sale.

Undercover trading standards officers and uniformed police carried out the sting at Needham Lake, in Needham Market on Saturday .

They targeted one stall selling fake copies of some of the latest films, including one that will not be launched in cinemas in this country for another week.

More than 185 DVDs being sold for £5 each were confiscated and will now be examined as part of an investigation into the incident.

Two men in their 20s, from Chelmsford and Braintree, will be questioned by trading standards officers from Suffolk County Council and police as part of the probe. It will then be decided what action to take against them.

Trading standards officer Tony Doorly, who led the operation, said it had been a great success.

He said: "It went very well from our point of view. We got the DVDs and we've let the people selling them know that we're around and we won't let this sort of thing happen in Suffolk.

"It's professional criminals who are ultimately behind this. It's not the 'jack the lad' type person committing this type of crime and it's not to be taken lightly.

"Our role is to make sure genuine traders in Suffolk are protected and this is part of that."

Mr Doorly led a team of four officers in executing the operation, with two police officers in attendance to make sure there was no breach of the peace.

He said: "People are always shocked when you come along. We'd built up intelligence on this stallholder and we knew he'd been there other weeks. We had great support from the police."

Other checks are being planned at car boot sales throughout the county in a bid to further clampdown on the problem.

Films seized included Shrek 2, which was mis-spelt as Shreck 2, Around the World in 80 days, Spiderman 2, King Arthur and I,Robot, not due to hit the big screen in this country until Friday. Unclassified pornographic movies were also taken.

Peter Monk, portfolio holder for public protection at Suffolk County Council said: "This crackdown shows just how serious we are about stopping these counterfeit goods flooding into the county.

"Consumers who think they are getting a good deal by buying these counterfeit goods are mistaken.

"They are being taken as mugs by these crooks. People selling counterfeit goods are not loveable rogues but con artists who swindle local businesses out of thousands of pounds every year."

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