ICE arrests 21 on copyright charges in Puerto Rico

ICE arrests 21 on copyright charges in Puerto Rico U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken its battle against intellectual property rights violators to the flea markets of Puerto Rico, arresting 21 suspects this week on charges of illegal reproduction and distribution of music CDs and DVDs.
   A federal grand jury seated in San Juan since November indicted the suspects, who were arrested in the Puerto Rican cities of Bayamon, Vega Baja, Morovis, Mayaguez, Hatillo, Quebradillas, Ponce, Guayanilla and Carolina.
   The indictments stemmed from ICE's Operation Digital Pirates, which dates back to May 2007 and had led to the seizure of more than 53,000 counterfeit CDs and DVDs. The U.S. Secret Service and the Puerto Rico Bureau of Special Investigations worked with ICE to uncover federal copyright statute violations.
   “The growth in IPR (intellectual property rights) violations in our jurisdiction is definitely one of our concerns. We’ve seen the enormous profits made from the sale of counterfeit goods used by international organized crime groups to bankroll other criminal activities, including trafficking in illegal drugs, weapons, and other contraband,” said Manuel Oyola Torres, special agent-in-charge of ICE Office of Investigations in Puerto Rico. “We will continue working with our partners in the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to shut down these criminal enterprises.'
   Customs and Border Protection and ICE said that in fiscal year 2006, the most recent year for which complete data is available, there was an 83 percent increase in IPR seizures within U.S. jurisdictions. The value of the seizures is an estimated $155 million.