INTERNATIONAL CAMCORD BROKER ARRESTED BY MALAYSIAN AUTHORITIES
Cross Border Collaboration Leads To Arrest Of Prolific Content Broker
- 24Feb 2011
SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR - On February 24, acting on information provided by the Malaysian Federation Against Copyright Theft (MFACT), representing Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Malaysia, officers from the Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) arrested a 34 year-old man responsible for brokering the sale of large amounts of camcorded1 content from around the world. The arrest represents the conclusion of a complex cross-border investigation and operation which required the joint efforts of a number of agencies and organizations around the world.
The officers, assisted by staff from MFACT and CyberSecurity Malaysia, arrested the man while he was leaving his house. Following the arrest, authorities raided the residence and conducted a forensic examination of computers found at the man’s home. In addition to the computers, authorities seized a number of other items connected to the brokering of illegal camcorded content.
“We are pleased that many months of investigations and cooperation have resulted in the arrest of a notorious broker of camcorded content,” said Mike Ellis, President & Managing Director of MPA Asia Pacific. “The suspect has been found to be a major player worldwide and a threat to creators of content around the region. Kudos to the MDTCC on neutralizing this international criminal, the impact of which will be felt immediately, cutting off the supply to international crime syndicates and thereby safeguarding the film communities in the region. We look forward to speedy prosecution and conviction of all involved.”
The arrest is a result of investigations launched a year ago, targeting this major international broker of illegal camcorded content. While the suspect is not thought to have personally camcorded films, he played a critical role as a broker of camcorded content, connecting camcorders with local criminal syndicates around the world.
“We congratulate the raiding party for connecting this known international criminal activity to the source,” said Mohd Roslan bin Mahayudin, Director General, Enforcement Division of the MDTCC. “We also thank MFACT and MPA for their support in marshalling resources from their partner organizations to track down this camcorded content broker. Such crimes related to piracy have a very serious impact on the film industry. In this case, our authorities will be pushing for a maximum sentence.”
This is another successful major operation by the MDTCC following last month’s raid on an illegal factory replicating pirated optical discs in Negeri Sembilan.
More than 90% of newly released movies that illegally end up on the Internet and in street markets around the world originate from illegal recordings being made in cinemas. These recordings often appear online within hours or days of a movie premiere, triggering an avalanche of illegal downloads that can significantly impact a film’s performance at the box office and throughout its distribution cycle.
1 A camcord occurs when an individual or team enters a theatre and makes an unauthorized copy of a movie using a recording device.
For more information, please contact
Edward Neubronner
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033
Siti Rohdiah
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033
Shamsul Shafie
MFA©T Malaysia
(60-3) 2092 4015
About the MPA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of major motion picture companies in the global marketplace. To do so, it promotes and protects its member companies’ intellectual property rights and conducts public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to transform entire markets benefiting film industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.
The organizations’ worldwide operations are directed from its headquarters in Los Angeles, California and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. Its member companies include: Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLLP; The Walt Disney Studios; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. For more information about the MPA, please visit www.mpa-i.org.
