Ten people have been jailed for up to six years for contravening the Copyright Ordinance and the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance.

The Customs & Excise Department said today's sentences were enhanced 30% by the District Court on each charge pursuant to the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance, making it the hardest of its kind in Hong Kong.

The nine men and a woman aged 24 to 53 were arrested February 14, 2007, after they were found operating three pirated disc storage centres and retail outlets. Customs officers seized more than 33,000 pirated discs worth $820,000. The woman and one of the nine men were found to have dealt with $23 million and $7 million, representing the proceeds of an indictable offence.

The department applied under the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance to freeze $9 million worth of assets and will make an application to the court for the forfeiture of the assets.

It has invoked the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance in taking prosecution action in nine cases related to infringement of intellectual property rights with the frozen assets amounting to $108 million.