Seven people were arrested Sunday at a warehouse in Mira Loma in one of the biggest illegal CD busts in Riverside County history, according to the district attorney's office.
Investigators from the Riverside County district attorney's office and the Recording Industry Association of America raided the warehouse stacked with more than 100,000 pirated CDs worth about $1.4 million, said Senior Investigator Scott Michaels, of the district attorney's office.
Rodolfo Reyes and Javier Mora, both of Fontana, Miguel Robles, Javier Flores, Ruben Gonzalez and Felipe Olivares, all of Bell Gardens, and Gerardo Ibanez, of Los Angeles, face five years in prison on charges of possessing more than 100 illegal CDs for sale. Most were Latin music titles.
The defendants would package the CDs at the warehouse at 10427 San Sevaine Way and sell them to vendors for street fairs and markets in Southern California for $7 to $20, Michaels said.
The investigator said the illegal CDs look similar to legal CDs, but some have extra music.
Michaels said more arrests will be made in relation to this organization.
"This group is definitely part of a larger organized crime organization," Michaels said.
Similar to illegal drugs, Michaels said the production and sale of pirated CDs is part of a web of other crimes including street-level gang members who may force a tax on the sellers.
Brad Buckles, the executive vice president against piracy for the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a news release that these arrests "help protect the economic health of local music retailers and the continuing flow of important tax revenue."
Anyone with information about other counterfeit merchandise can call Michaels at 951-955-5430.
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