A forger from Southall has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after police uncovered the largest haul of counterfeit vinyl records ever found in the UK.
Rehan Ahmed, 40, of Cranleigh Gardens, Southall, west London, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday for what City of London Police called “a long-running, highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation”.
Officers from the force’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) raided Ahmed’s Phoenix of Vinyl warehouse in Acton in February 2024 after staff from the British Phonographic Industry made a test purchase and discovered he was selling fakes.
Inside, they found 2,791 counterfeit records covering 108 artists, including the Beatles, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Drake, Beyoncé and Rihanna. Police also seized four 70-year-old vinyl presses, 3,000 metal stampers and thousands of sleeves and centre labels — 18 tonnes of evidence in total.
£2.7m profit over seven years
Ahmed generated £2,743,000 from the sale of counterfeit vinyl between 2017 and 2024, according to City of London Police — around £2.7m. He had received a cease-and-desist letter as early as 2017 but carried on regardless, selling knock-offs to record shops and online under the names Phoenix of Vinyl and Paragon Music.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of breach of copyright and to acquiring and using criminal property. London courts have handed down tough sentences for large-scale fraud before.
Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, of PIPCU, 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, the BPI’s director of content protection, added: “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.”
Reporting based on: City of London Police via UK media reports, the British Phonographic Industry, The Guardian and the BBC, 21 September 2026.
