As part of its intellectual property rights initiative,”Operation Digital Pirates,” ICE swoops down on Puerto Rico flea markets and arrests 21 individuals for federal copyright statute violations.

Operation Digital Pirates was a great example of an anti-counterfeiting collaboration between enforcement officials and the entertainment community.

The arrests – in the municipalities of Bayamon, Vega Baja, Morovis, Mayaguez, Hatillo, Quebradillas, Ponce, Guayanilla and Carolina – were a result of a May 2007 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation into allegations of criminal infringement of copyrights at several flea markets in Puerto Rico. It was then that the agency – together with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Puerto Rico Bureau of Special Investigations, and officials of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) –   launched the first phase of Operation Digital Pirates. The operation was an effort to identify intellectual property rights (IPR) violators and led to the seizure of more than 53,000 counterfeit music CDs and DVDs.

ICE, the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations which produce, smuggle and distribute counterfeit products. ICE investigations focus not only on keeping counterfeit products off U.S. streets, but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.

In 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE marked an 83 percent increase in the number of IPR seizures, including 14,675 seizures of counterfeit goods worth more than $155 million – a 67 percent increase from the previous year. ICE investigations resulted in 219 arrests, 134 indictments and 170 convictions in intellectual property rights violations.

Between 2002 and 2006, ICE agents arrested more than 700 individuals for IPR violations and dismantled several large-scale criminal organizations that distributed counterfeit merchandise worldwide. The investigations into these networks resulted in 449 criminal indictments and 425 convictions. Together, ICE and CBP seized more than $750 million worth of counterfeit goods from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2006.

The arrests and indictment for violations to Title 17, United States Code, Sections 506(a)(1) & (b); and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2319 (b)(1) was announced by Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico; Manuel Oyola-Torres, Special Agent in Charge, ICE; Roberto Melendez, Resident Agent in Charge, USSS; Luis Rios, Director, Puerto Rico Bureau of Special Investigations, and officials of the MPAA and RIAA.

According to the indictment, the defendants (26 in total) infringed copyright laws by reproducing and distributing music CDs and DVDs, for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.

According to Ms. Rodriguez-Velez, "The U.S. Attorney's Office in Puerto Rico is committed to the prosecution of individuals who sell counterfeit products. In the end, this underground market is damaging to the artists, the local economy and the consumers." She added, "The joint efforts of federal and state law enforcement agencies, in collaboration with music and movie industry groups in Puerto Rico, will have a significant impact on the black market which has proliferated in recent years."

Manuel Oyola Torres, special agent-in-charge of ICE Office of Investigations in Puerto Rico, said, "The growth in IPR 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. We will continue working with our partners in the MPAA and RIAA to shut down these criminal enterprises."

Brad Buckles, Executive Vice President, Anti-Piracy, RIAA, commented, "There can be no doubt that the illegal music trade is big business, attracting various types and groups of criminals who increasingly have connections to drugs, guns and in some cases even terrorist activities.”

 "These are crimes that require close collaboration between law enforcement, government and the intellectual property industries in a way that provides a sustained pressure on those who steal in this manner. The illegal trafficking of counterfeit music and other goods drives local retailers out of business and deprives cities and states of important tax revenue generated from legitimate purchases. We applaud ICE and the many law enforcement agencies involved in taking this important action to protect music and other IP industries from theft,” Buckles added.

The criminal infringement of a copyright has a penalty up to five years imprisonment if it is a first offense, and ten years imprisonment if the offense is a second or subsequent offense, a fine up to $250,000, and a supervised release term. Trafficking in counterfeit labels affixed to the illegal copies of motion picture DVDs or music CDs has a penalty of up to five years imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Hernandez.