Microsoft hit by #9.6m burglary

Microsoft has warned dealers to be on the lookout for illegal software after armed robbers raided the vendor's replicator Thompson Litho last week and got away with #9.6 million of software - the biggest ever haul.

The thieves escaped with over 100,000 CDs and more than 200,000 authenticity certificates. The software included copies of Microsoft Encarta and Office 97.

Four masked men broke into the premises late on 10 November, threatened two security guards with a gun, and then locked them in an office, tied up and gagged. The thieves loaded the stolen software into a blue Iveco van, also stolen from Thompson Litho.

One of the guards eventually managed to break free and called the police.

Both men were unhurt and the gun was not fired.

David Gregory, anti-piracy manager at Microsoft, said the stolen software was in various forms - some with manuals, some in jewel cases, and CDs.

He asked dealers to tip off Microsoft if they were approached by anyone with dodgy software because illegal products damaged the legitimate channel.

In Ilford, another man was caught red-handed, illegally copying games software. Police recovered over a quarter million pounds worth of software.

The European Leisure Software Association seized almost #1 million of software and arrested four people after the biggest raid of the year on Kinross market in Perthshire on 9 November.