The police are reporting significant results in their crackdown on the DVD piracy trade in 2008.

The Intellectual Property Crime Unit at the Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) reports that more than 150,000 DVDs were seized and 120 arrests made last year.

This represents a dramatic rise over 2007, when the police recovered 30,000 DVDs and made 21 arrests.

OCID said 70 percent of the persons arrested were convicted and ordered to pay fines or given custodial sentences.

Head of the Intellectual Property Crime Unit, Detective Sergeant Leroy Faulknor, said persons charged under the Copyright Act face a maximum fine of $100,000 or up to two years imprisonment.

He also said violent gangsters used the trade to fund their activities and to purchase guns and drugs.

Sergeant Faulknor is urging persons to desist from supporting the sale of illegal DVDs as it often leads to other unlawful practices and encourages gang related activities.