AN illegal immigrant who was part of a counterfeit DVD business in Worcester has been sent to prison, and will now face being deported.

Kehui Xue was arrested at a flat in New Street along with three other men and two women on April 11 last year, following investigations by Worcestershire County Council's Trading Standards.

A total of 2,669 DVDs, 540 of which contained unclassified pornographic material, along with a lap top computer were seized by officers.

Xue, 30, appeared at Worcester Crown Court yesterday (MON) and admitted six charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and two charges under the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The Trade Marks Act deals with fake goods and the Video Recordings Act requires that all videos and DVDs are classified and labelled according to regulations.

Xue, who came to the UK four years ago from China, also admitted being in possession of a laptop containing programmes for copying DVDs and creating false labels.

The court heard that Xue and his associates were involved in copying DVDs and selling them on to the public.

Anthony Vines, prosecuting, said: "A warrant was executed at a flat in New Street, Worcester, on suspicion of the possession of counterfeit DVDs for sale. There were six oriental people inside the flat, two women and four men."

The court heard that charges against one of the women involved were no longer being pursued and the four other individuals had now "disappeared".

Mr Vines said Xue had previously been before the courts for selling counterfeit goods door-to-door and was given a suspended prison sentence.

In mitigation Lee Marklew said Xue, who was aided in court by an interpreter, had come to Britain seeking a better life but was refused asylum and exhausted all appeals procedures.

He said: "He came to this country four years ago because the only family he had was his mother, who lives in a very poor area in south China. He wanted the opportunity to better himself."

Judge Alistair McCreath sentenced Xue to a total of two-and-a-half years in prison. He said that the Home Office were now looking into deporting Xue.