Lonnie Hill of Irvington and Bronx man facing charges

State Police detectives arrested two men and recovered more than 23,000 counterfeited DVD movies and music CDs valued at more than $200,000 following the search of a Newark warehouse, the agency announced Monday.

Lonnie Hill, 35, of Irvington and Lamie Diallo, 29, of the Bronx are facing charges involving the sale and distribution of pirated films, some of which are still playing at theaters.

Detectives from the Cargo Theft Unit, joined by agents from the state Treasury Department’s Office of Criminal Investigation, and experts from the film and entertainment industry, executed a search warrant at 186 Market Street hoping to find a large supply of the illegal disks. They found that the third floor was accessible only after being buzzed in through a video-monitored door. Once inside, investigators found the entire floor filled with boxes of titles ready for sale.

“The pirating and mass distribution of unauthorized copies of DVD movies and music CDs is an illicit international industry which generates big profits for the criminals involved,” state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said. “With this raid, we have shut down a major distribution hub for pirated movies and music.”

“This is one of many counterfeit goods operations that the New Jersey State Police have put out of business lately, Col. Rick Fuentes, State Police superintendent, said.

Diallo had arrived at the brick building Friday morning with a delivery of more than 2,000 packaged disks. Hill allegedly was a primary operator of the illegal operation. The location served as a distribution hub to a number of street vendors who purchase titles cheap and then resell them to the public. War Horse, Sherlock Holmes, Underworld Awakening and Contraband are some of the current movies seized.

Diallo and Hill were both charged with possession of counterfeit merchandise. Additionally, Hill was charged with possession of prescription drugs when he was found to have 60 tubes of suspected testosterone. Diallo was released pending court and Hill is lodged in the Essex County Jail on $150,000 full cash bail.

Because the charges are indictable offenses, they will be presented to a grand jury for potential indictment. The case will be prosecuted by the Division of Criminal Justice.

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM