Gardaí in Dundalk made the biggest seizure of counterfeit DVDs and CDs so far this year when they raided a yard close to the Louth border with Armagh yesterday.
The haul, estimated to be worth €500,000, includes a large quantity of fireworks which would have been sold in the run up to Hallowe'en.
Detectives from Dundalk, assisted by members of the anti-racketeering unit at Garda Headquarters, raided a yard at Carrickarnon near Dromad around 9 a.m. yesterday. The counterfeit goods and fireworks were in two vans. They were packed up and ready to be brought to market stalls to be sold, according to one source.
Two men from Dundalk were arrested on suspicion of breaching the Copyright Act. Both are known to gardaí.
It is believed it was intended to bring the haul to the open-air market in Jonesboro a short distance from the Border and that some of the counterfeit material would have been bought by other dealers for sale at other markets around the north-east and Dublin.
A spokesman for the Irish Federation Against Copyright Theft said the seizure was the biggest this year. He said gangs involved in counterfeiting were turning over close to €10 million a year while the cost to legitimate traders and film industry was between €20 million-€25 million.
Among the movie titles found were Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo and Bad Boyz II. They retail for about €23 but counterfeits can cost just €10.
An industry source there were about 6,000 DVDs in the vans. "This is certainly a very significant seizure and blow to the pirates," he said.
Three families are believed to control the piracy market in DVDs in Ireland with a base in Dundalk.
However in recent months there have been a number of raids by gardaí on their operations. Garda sources said yesterday's raid was just the latest in the continued crackdown on the trade.