DUSHANBE, July 25, Asia-Plus - More than 34,000 unlicensed CDs and DVDs for a total amount of 159,000 Somonis have been confiscated in Dushanbe in raids made by tax police, Rajab Emomov, an official with Tajik tax police, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 25.  

According to him, the raids have been made to revealed pirate audio and video products as well as cassettes containing illegal product – pornography and violence.

Mr. Emomov said that as a result of raids made on 35 shops in Dushanbe eight entrepreneurs had been reprimanded and fined a total of 1,860 Somonis.  

“The lo-quality products are mainly sold on the city’s markets,” the tax police official said, noting that half of the contraband products had been confiscated on the markets.    

He added that tax police had also discovered and confiscated equipment for illegal copying of the unlicensed audio and video products.  

“There some hundred shops in the city selling audio and video products and the raids will continue until we inspect all of them,” Rajab Emomov said.  

During the news conference it was noted that this time, the shops, where unlicensed products had been discovered, were not closed as it had been done before.  “Only entrepreneurs selling the contraband product have been fined,” the tax police official said.  

Tax police made such raids in April already.  That time, more than 48,000 CDs and DVDs were confiscated and some 100 shops selling unlicensed audio and video products were closed.