Backyard operators in Australia who are selling equipment that allows users to play pirated games on Xbox and Nintendo DS are set to be targeted by the Federal police who during the past 6 months have been investigating DVD and movie counterfeiting and the illegal copying of Foxtel SIM cards.

In recent weeks the Australian Federal Police executed search warrants on several premises in a major crackdown on piracy and the illegal sales of cracked gaming machines and copied gaming software. The Federal Police also have a task force monitoring online sales with IP addresses of those selling illegal consumer electronic gear being tracked. They are also investigating sales of pirated goods on EBay. The recent warrants were the result of joint investigations with various State Police forces  instigated by Foxtel who have been targeting the sale and distribution of unauthorised pirate smart cards, which allow illegal access to Foxtel services.

Foxtel has also said that consumers who follow Today Tonight’s advice and access Foxtel content without paying a subscription fee are breaking the law as the content is copyrighted.

This week Nintendo said that it has filed suit against five Japanese companies, accusing them of importing and selling equipment that allows users to play pirated games on Nintendo DS handheld game devices. Some of this equptment is already being sold in Australia according to executives from EB Games.

In addition to Nintendo, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit include 54 other Japanese software firms.The lawsuit takes aim at a software emulator called R4 Revolution, and similar devices.

“These devices allow playing of copied game programs which were obtained from illegal uploading Web sites on the Internet and which could not be played on Nintendo DS in a normal situation,” Nintendo said in a statement provided to GameSpot.

“Nintendo and the game software developers are suffering tremendous loss caused by the import and distribution of such devices.”