A 40-year-old London man has been jailed for three and a half years after police uncovered more than 2,000 counterfeit vinyl records in what was described as an “entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation”.

Rehan Ahmed, of Cranleigh Gardens, Southall, west London, is estimated to have made more than £2.7 million over seven years by selling counterfeit records by artists including The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

Ahmed was arrested after police raided his warehouse in Acton in February 2024.

Staff from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had earlier made a test purchase from his Phoenix of Vinyl warehouse and discovered that he was selling counterfeit records, according to the City of London Police.

A subsequent search of the warehouse uncovered 2,791 counterfeit vinyl records by 108 different artists, described by police as the largest stash of fake vinyl ever found by police in the UK.

Ahmed was sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Inner London Crown Court on Friday for what police described as a “long-running, highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation”.

Using four 70-year-old vinyl presses, Ahmed and those working with him produced counterfeit records by artists including Adele, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Drake, Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Police seized about 18 tonnes of evidence, including 3,000 metal stampers, thousands of sleeves and centre labels.

Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London Police, said Ahmed had exploited artists and the wider music industry.

“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, BPI director of content protection, described the conviction as significant and thanked PIPCU and the organisation’s label members for their efforts in the investigation.

“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.

“Sadly, it won’t return the tens of millions of pounds that we estimate have been leeched from artists, the record labels that support them and the retail community that sells their music, but at least this major criminal operation has now been closed down and it sends a clear signal to other counterfeiters who are exploiting music that we are coming after them.”

The case comes amid renewed interest in vinyl records, which have experienced a major resurgence over the past decade, with fans buying collector’s editions and multiple versions of releases by their favourite artists.

According to the BPI, annual physical music revenue exceeded £250 million in 2025, while the vinyl market grew by 19.9 per cent year-on-year.

Physical music sales remain an important source of revenue for artists and the wider music industry, alongside income from streaming and other formats. (Metro UK)