A UK court sentenced Rehan Ahmed of Southall, west London, to three years and six months in prison for running a counterfeit vinyl record operation. The scheme, active since 2017, generated an estimated £2.7 million ($3.5 million) in revenue by producing fake records of artists like The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Kendrick Lamar.
The operation, called 'Phoenix of Vinyl', was uncovered in 2024 after a British Phonographic Industry representative made a test purchase. City of London Police raided the premises and found the largest stock of fake vinyl ever discovered in the UK: 2,791 records by 108 different artists, along with four roughly 70-year-old vinyl presses, 3,000 metal stampers, and thousands of sleeves and center labels.
The BPI has been stepping up enforcement, participating in 43 search warrants over the past two years and seizing around 600,000 counterfeit items valued at up to £8 million ($10.7 million). The case comes as physical music sales continue to grow: UK vinyl sales reached 7.6 million records in 2025, a 13.3% year-over-year increase, with revenue up 19.9% to £174.7 million ($234 million).