Tech Shakes: Police Arrest Man Trying to Sell Brotherhood on the Dark Web

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Police Arrest Man Trying to Sell Brotherhood on the Dark Web

The Police Intellectual Proprty Crime Unit is well known in the UK for its action against torrent and streaming sites and other larger players in the piracy scene. Today, however, they bring news of a more focused action.

In a statement this afternoon, PIPCU announced the arrest of a man from Maidenhead who allegedly offered a movie for sale on the dark web.

The 35-year-old is said to have offered Brotherhood, the Lionsgate-distributed crime-drama sequel to Kidulthood and Adulthood. It’s still showing in cinemas in the UK following its late August release.

According to police, the copy was spotted by UK anti-piracy outfit Entura International, which focuses on cyberlocker, streaming, and BitTorrent piracy. Entura passed its information to the police who arrested the man last Thursday on suspicion of copyright offenses.

At this stage, several questions remain unanswered, not least why the UK’s most elite anti-piracy unit sprang into action for a single movie. The movie isn’t available for retail release until December 26th, so that may have played a part, but PIPCU are usually involved in much bigger operations.

What’s also unclear is the type of copy being made available. TorrentFreak asked Entura if the copy had CAM, DVDSCR or retail origins, but at the time of publication we had received no response. However, according to police, counterfeit goods were seized from the suspect’s address during the raid, which might indicate a bigger operation.

“Protecting the creative industries is of paramount importance to the UK and the Government estimates that it contributes £84.1 billion to the economy,” said Detective Inspector Michael Dodge of PIPCU.

“Intellectual property crime is not a victimless crime as not only do hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on it but the money made funds organized crime groups that can also be involved in people and drug trafficking.”

Jason Maza, who plays Daley in the movie, also welcomed the arrest, thanking Entura and the police for protecting his film from piracy.

“The importance of protecting film from theft is something I have always felt strongly about as without it the industry has no future.

“I’m so happy that the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and Entura were able to act so quickly to stop this thief in their tracks and hope that this arrest acts as a warning to those out there considering such behavior in the future.”

PIPCU say the 35-year-old has been released on police bail until January 2017.