Stolen Beatles treasures recovered in police anti-piracy swoop

London, January 10, 2003

Unique tapes of historic Beatles recording sessions have been recovered in an anti-piracy crackdown by UK and Dutch police, working with investigators from the international recording industry.

The tapes, known as the "Get Back Sessions" were recorded in 1969 during the making of the album "Let it Be". They disappeared shortly after the sessions, and since then have only been heard via pirate copies that were made widely available across Europe and the USA.

Investigations by IFPI and BPI, the organisations that spearhead the recording industry's anti-piracy fight internationally and in the UK, today culminated in a series of raids in Holland and the South East of England by City of London Police and their Dutch counterparts FIOD-ECD. The investigations had started after BPI found pirate copies of the rare recordings in previous anti-piracy operations in the UK

Five hundred original reel-to-reel tapes belonging to the Beatles were seized, and six suspects have been arrested for theft and handling stolen goods.

Detective Inspector Paul Johnston of the Central Detective Unit, City of London Police, said: "This is a good example of how an international multi-agency approach by both the private sector and police agencies can combat offences of this nature. Enquiries are continuing".

David Munns, Vice-Chairman of EMI Recorded Music and a member of IFPI's Main Board, said: "Music piracy is a serious crime. EMI will support all efforts to defend the intellectual property of our artists and of producers."

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI, said: "We applaud this exemplary police operation, which reflects the extraordinary level of international coordination that is needed to tackle the sophisticated cross-border strategies of today's organised music pirates."

For further information contact:
Adrian Strain, IFPI +44 (0)20 7878 7939
Julian Goodchild, City of London Police +44 (0)20 7601 2222