A MAN possessing more than £250,000 worth of extreme porn is the first to be convicted under new legislation thanks to the efforts of the Hatfield neighbourhood policing team.

Glen Smith, 38, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail after pleading guilty to 22 charges of selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs and possession of extreme pornography on Friday, August 20.

Smith, of Chingford, London, was caught at Cuffley car boot sale in August last year.

It followed a thorough investigation by PC Ross Freeman and Hatfield neighbourhood Sergeant Malcolm Dey working closely with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and BPI (British Recorded Music Industry), to bring Smith to court.

The 38-year-old was arrested following a number of proactive covert operations in August 2009 during which officers from the Hatfield policing team seized more than 9,700 counterfeit DVDs from his home address.

Sergeant Dey said: “We are the first officers in the county to make use of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 – possession of extreme pornographic images – and it was only possible by the fantastic support from FACT and BPI.

“We are thrilled with Smith's significant sentence which shows how this type of crime is viewed by the courts.”

PC Ross Freeman from the Brookmans Park and villages policing team, who investigated the offences, added: “The sheer amount of disks and equipment Smith was in possession of was staggering – worth up to £250,000 – and the investigation into him took nearly a year.”