Birmingham trading standards officers have unveiled seized illegally 'chipped' or 'flashed' games consoles with an estimated street value of more than £500,000. The seizure was made from a city centre apartment in a joint operation by Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police and the UKIE (Association of UK Interactive Entertainment). In total, 250 Xbox 360 consoles and hard drives, 450 copied Xbox 360 games, five computers and circumvention devices for illegally altering games consoles were confiscated. The raid followed a complaint from a member of a public which led to trading standards monitoring a website offering consul chipping for six months, and sending a legitimate "virgin" consul to the Birmingham address to be altered. Neil Eustace, chair of the public protection committee, said: "While some may think 'chipping' or 'flashing' is a victimless crime, the truth is that such activity directly supports the black market in counterfeit games, which in turn endangers legitimate jobs and businesses in Birmingham. "I hope this operation sends a clear message to those involved that we will not hesitate to take action against them in this city, and more generally that operating online does not provide counterfeiters with the safe haven from the authorities that some seem to think it might." The illegal 'chipping' or 'flashing' of consuls enables them to circumnavigate built-in technology which would otherwise prevent them from being able to run counterfeit/copied games. Andy Payne, Chairman of UKIE, said: "We would like to congratulate Birmingham Trading Standards on a very professional and thorough investigation. "We value their help in our fight against criminals who do serious damage to the UK video games industry and jobs of those who work within it." Source
