A man from Southall has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after making more than £2.7 million from counterfeit vinyl records produced at an underground manufacturing plant in Acton.
Rehan Ahmed, 40, of Cranleigh Gardens, Southall, generated £2,743,000 through the sale of counterfeit records between 2017 and 2024, according to City of London Police.
Ahmed was found guilty at Inner London Crown Court and sentenced to three years and six months in prison on Friday (18 September 2026).
The operation was uncovered following an investigation by the City of London Police’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), after the case was referred to officers by music industry body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Police said the records were being manufactured and distributed from a unit in Acton under the name Phoenix of Vinyl.
Warrants executed in February 2024 resulted in the seizure of 2,791 vinyl records, together with stampers and lacquer used in their manufacture.
Inside the plant, officers discovered four vinyl presses, each around 70 years old, as well as 3,000 metal stampers and thousands of record sleeves and centre labels.
In total, police said 18 tonnes of evidence was recovered.
Record labels subsequently examined the seized records and confirmed the titles infringed their copyright, with the copyright of 108 artists used.
Counterfeit records included releases by artists including Beyonce, Adele, Bad Bunny, Ariana Grande and Drake.
Police described the operation as a highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing business capable of producing counterfeit recordings on an industrial scale. The plant is believed to have been operating covertly since 2017.
City of London Police said the investigation resulted in the largest seizure of counterfeit vinyl records of its kind in the UK.
Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit at the City of London Police, said: “Rehan Ahmed exploited artists and the wider music industry, taking advantage of the resurgence in vinyl records for his own gain. We will continue to pursue criminals who target the creative industries and bring them to justice when they do.
“This case should send a clear message to anyone selling counterfeit vinyl, it is illegal and we will take action.”
Peter Ratcliffe, BPI Director of Content Protection, said: “This conviction is hugely significant, and we thank our partners in this investigation, PIPCU and our label members, for their valued efforts over many months to bring about this welcome outcome.
“Sadly, it won’t return the tens of millions of pounds that we estimate have been leeched from artists, the record labels that support them, and the retail community that sells their music, but at least this major criminal operation has now been closed down and it sends a clear signal to other counterfeiters who are exploiting music that we are coming after them.
“With music on physical formats enjoying a resurgence, the market in counterfeit records has unfortunately also been growing as criminals cash in at the expense of creators and fans. This doesn’t just impact the legal music economy and everyone that works and invests in it – it also affects every one of us as citizens who fall victim to other forms of criminality that it funds.
“It is vital that we put a stop to it and working with our members, PIPCU, trading standards and other authorities we are absolutely focused on doing just that.”
