Movies on black market

       Many recent Hollywood and Turkish movies are now on the black market in the big cities of Turkey. The street market for DVDs or VCDs of the newest movies has become a market worth trillions. These CDs enter Turkey through Bulgaria, or are imported from the Far East and on the streets of Tahtakale, in Istanbul, sold for 1.5 to 2 million liras. The import is done generally done by people from Kayseri, and they are sold in the streets by people from Agri. The Turkish movie Kahpe Bizans, for example was on the black market as soon as two days after its gala in the movie theatres.
       It is possible to find the pirate copies of the most recent movies in cities like Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Adana, and Antalya. Some movies arrive as pirate copies before they are being shown in theatres in Turkey.
       Warner Bros, United International Pictures, and the Turkish distributor company Ozen Film are highly disturbed over the black market flourishing in Turkey. "They sell pirate copies even in front of our building," complained Yasemin Fidan of Warner Bros.
       Police confiscate pirate copies when they when they catch them and those who sell them go to court. The penalties applied can range between three months to three years in jail and fines ranging from 2 billion liras to 4 bilion.