Multinational swoop on Fairlight pirates

Police in 11 countries have carried out a total of 120 searches and numerous arrests to crack a piracy organisation called Fairlight.

More than 200 computers were seized worldwide, including 30 servers used as storage and distribution hubs. One of the servers seized in the US contained an estimated 65,000 pirated titles and police estimate that hundreds of thousands of illegally copied titles are held on the seized machines.

'Operation Fastlink' was coordinated by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which carried out raids in 27 states in the US.

In the UK, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit worked with the Business Software Alliance and the Federation Against Copyright Theft to provide information for search warrants.

On Wednesday, NHTCU officers and police from local forces executed search warrants and arrested three men at separate locations in Sheffield, Manchester and Belfast.

Police seized cracked software from all types of media, seven computers, more than 100 CD copiers, offensive weapons and counterfeit driving licences and credit cards.

Detective Superintendent Mike Deats, deputy head of the NHTCU, said: "This operation struck at all facets of the illegal software, game, movie and music trade online."

In Singapore, police arrested two nationals, one a student and the other a national serviceman, and a foreign permanent resident who is said to have been purchasing cracked software from Fairlight since 2001.

Police say that the organisation was highly structured with release groups providing the first copies of pirated material to a second level of 'warez' servers and made available to selected groups or consumers.

At this stage the material achieves a state of instant release and is available worldwide within hours, if not minutes.

Raids were carried out in the UK, the US, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden.

Other groups known to the various police forces include: Kalisto, Echelon, Class and Project X, which specialise in pirated computer games, and APC, which does the music side of piracy.

The NHTCU quotes an IDC study that estimates that a 10 per cent reduction in UK piracy would contribute $17.5bn for the UK's GDP, indirectly create 40,000 jobs and generate $4.1bn in tax revenue.