$50M In Counterfeit Vintage Consoles and Videogames Seized From Italian Crime Ring

Police in Italy “smashed” a videogame trafficking ring, reports the BBC. They seized fake vintage Nintendo, Sega and Atari consoles that didn’t meet strict safety standards, as well as counterfeit games — including Mario Bros., Street Fighter and Star Wars — that together were worth almost €50m ($55.5m)

Around 12,000 consoles holding over 47 million pirated video games were seized by police, Alessandro Langella, head of the economic crime unit for Turin’s financial police, told the AFP news agency… They were “all from China” and were imported to be sold in specialised shops or online, Mr Langella said…

The seized games have been destroyed. Nine Italian nationals have been arrested and charged with trading in counterfeited goods. If found guilty, they face up to eight years in prison.