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U.S. Justice Dept. Conducts Intl. Raids on "Warez" Internet Piracy Groups

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2004 - 3:52am.
Washington -- The U.S. Justice Dept. on Thursday announced that yesterday it launched its most far-reaching enforcement action ever against Internet piracy groups, coordinating with law enforcement in 10 countries to conduct 120 raids targeting "warez" groups that distribute pirated software, music, movies and video games. "Operation Fastlink" seized 200 computers and 30 servers that housed an estimated $50 million in pirated goods. As part of the investigation, the FBI on Thursday served six search warrants in San Diego County as part of the ongoing investigation, the Associated Press reported. The raids also targeted individuals in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Justice Dept. said it investigated video game warez groups including Fairlight, Kalisto, Echelon, Class and Project X, and a music piracy group called APC. The ongoing investigations are being aided by U.S. trade groups including the Business Software Alliance, the Entertainment Software Association, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.
tags: U.S. | Raids | Laws | Warez |