Vic police nab third player in national piracy syndicate

Victorian Police have raided the home of a 62 year old man believed to be a prominent member of a national piracy syndicate.

Police believe the suspect is part of the same piracy group as a 36 year old arrested last year, and a 56 year old arrested in August.

Nearly 10,000 pirated film and music discs, 31 burners and 11 printers were confiscated in the raid.

The suspect is accused of burning up to $6,000 worth of counterfeit discs per week, and running a sophisticated distribution network which included selling the copies at workplaces such as construction sites.

Evidence seized in the raid includes bootlegged albums from artists such as U2 and The Cure, and illegal copies of movies still screening in Australian cinemas such as Wanted and The Dark Knight.

The police were assisted in their investigation by the Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT),