And the banned played on

Pirate radio stations are set up to provide the types of music unavailable in the mainstream media, offering the latest releases many months before they are issued. They therefore have a cult following, which many of the gangs have capitalised on by gaining income from a number of commercial interests – notably record labels, clothes stores, car accessory chains, as well as the illegal rave organisers. Some of these radio stations have eventually become legitimate and to suggest that the pirate radio stations are set up to sell drugs is like saying the printers who print fliers for raves are to blame for the rise in drug use.

Although it is right to inform readers of the dangers posed by gangs when removing illegal masts, your article was based almost entirely on hearsay. The greatest threats posed by pirate radio is without doubt the unsafe structures used, the ensuing damage from other illegal operations and interference caused by the transmitter equipment. However, it is worth bearing in mind that it is of no interest to the pirate radio station to occupy governmental bandwidths, as interference affects their own transmissions, and besides, these frequencies are often monitored during broadcasting.