Biggest-ever police raids smash global piracy rings

Police in the US, Australia, Canada, Norway, Finland and the UK have carried out a series of raids as part of the largest ever operation to smash an international software piracy ring.

British police have arrested several men, believed to be IT professionals, accused of distributing copyrighted items on the internet.

Investigators from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) believe the men are members of a group called DrinkorDie and are responsible for pirating millions of pounds worth of copyrighted software, games, music and videos.

The NHTCU arrested six British men in the their 20s and 30s and searched premises in Kent, London, Merseyside and Staffordshire.

In the US, agents carried out raids in 27 cities, seizing over 100 computers, which will be examined for illegal activity. More arrests are expected.

The operation, code named Buccaneer, was the largest global anti-piracy effort ever undertaken and the result of more than a year of undercover work.

Detective superintendent Mick Deats, deputy head of the NHTCU, praised the work of investigators.

"This was a painstaking investigation which involved my officers working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies in using the very latest technology to combat this type of crime," he said in a statement.

"The NHTCU is sending out a powerful message to people who may wish to commit these types of crime that policing is matching them every step of the way, to ensure we protect individuals, business, industry and government from all forms of high tech crime."

The software industry estimates it loses over $12bn a year through piracy.

DrinkorDie - founded in Moscow in 1993 - first gained the respect of hackers for releasing a copy of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system two weeks before its official launch.

US members of the group are said to include corporate executives, computer professionals and students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California.