AfterDawn: News

Police bust major Web pirates in Bulgaria

Police in Bulgaria have today charged two men with illegally distributing music and films in in one of Europes' largest Internet piracy groups, according to officials.

The administrator and systems operator of www.arenabg.com were taken into custody for putting download links to 20 million songs and hundreds of films on the site, which is one of Bulgaria's most popular pages.



It allowed users unlimited access to all content on the site for a $2.50 monthly fee. The damage to the entertainment industry from this is estimated at around $30 million by Bulgarian Authorities. "These people are among the biggest Internet pirates in Europe," explained Liliana Yosifova, spokeswoman for the Sofia Investigators' Office. "We are talking about big losses here."

Also found in the suspects' homes by police in the swoop were three satellite receivers and 200 CDs containing pirated movies, which is said by the Internet Ministry to have been a high-speed network used to download fresh music and video content from illegal pirate sites.

Source:
CNET News

Written by: Ben Reid @ 27 May 2006 16:13

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• 16 comments

• Mik3h

  "Police bust major Web pirates in Bulgaria"
  
  Meanwhile, a more serious crime could have been commited, and these police officers may not have been as active to catch them as they should have been. It goes to show, that police should stop wasting time over these petty crimes, and get back to some real policing.
  
  -Mike

  28.5.2006 08:39 #1

• calvn911

  Bulgaria's economy is in the toilet, system corrupt as hell, but again they found their priority.

  28.5.2006 09:37 #2

• MckinneR

  Maybe I am just retarded, but parates in Bulgaria, When did that become big, Police should stick to what they do best....guarding Krispy Cream or writing tickets. don't worry about two guys sharing music or movies. They have a name for what they do "Networking' It's the internet that what it was made for. I ask the question 1 moretime who is really being hurt. You give these guys a criminal record just for downloading a few songs (ok 20 million) and some movies, If you speak of real policing send the cops to find Bin Ladin
  Untill thaty find him everthing elese "within reason" should me minor

  28.5.2006 09:48 #3

• megaBLS

  Music, cocaine... what's next for Bulgaria

  28.5.2006 20:40 #4

• ripfuel

  Forget about the opium , cocaine & other drugs that come out of Bulgaria...let's get together & bust the hard criminals that pirate movies & music. you can really tell these guys have got it together.

  29.5.2006 04:27 #5

• MckinneR

  .....What?

  29.5.2006 06:08 #6

• gogochar

  Another good reason to live in the USA!

  29.5.2006 12:34 #7

• KillMan

  This is directed towards Mik3h, this is important, think of the people that produce these copyrighted materials, losing money because people are downloading their movies/music/games, they have to make a living just like anyone else, and pirating is stealing, so in my view it is very important, and it is real police work.

  29.5.2006 14:53 #8

• wylieboy

  yeah mik3h stop being so bigheaded. the internet was made as a source of information and it should stay like that. i dont see why people should download its utterly useless. it goes to show you are too poor to afford movies aka MIK3H :d

  30.5.2006 02:55 #9

• MckinneR

  LEt me first say I don't download movies ( don't like the quilaty-sometimes)Ok to "wylieboy" & "KillMan" don't you guys watch tv? haven't you seen the money the people are blowing 450,000 for a privte jet, 9 Cars (1 body) There kids have play house that are bigger than your real home, Just he because he downloads moves dose not means that he is poor, and besides if he was to download, he did & will not affect the movie industry at all opeanning weekend X-men 3 $120,125,000 as of http://www.the-numbers.com/index.php so how dose his 1 download affect a number...I don't a affect on Hugh Jackmon pocket who was paid hefty for this, For that fact if I download a CD (Kayne West for Ex) have I relly stop him from saying "I Spending "400.00 bucks on this, just to be like !$@@% you ain't up on this" I mean lets be serious the only reason these laws were place is to "control" the income, Piarcy has all been here in the 80s you wanned to listen to a song you would sit by the raido with the record button paused and wait till it came on and.....well and if a movie came on "Duh" VCR. As techolongy becomes more advance piarcy just becmes easier to do. I admit that I know it's not right, but...

  30.5.2006 04:23 #10

• KillMan

  Say if a million people have the same attitude about this as you and Mike, they'd be losing millions, maybee billions of dollars, if everyone thought so what, they have plenty of money, where would we be today, in a pretty messed up country...

  30.5.2006 11:51 #11

• MckinneR

  You think that the country is not messed up now, I'm not going to get in real deep because this is not the right fourm for this but I will this with as mush drama in the world to day from Bush keeping our folks over and seas (although that pretty bad)and that guy winnig american Idol (and them replacing the Shield with that Thief show) some people downloading some movie off the net (not selling it - just downloading it)should be the last of someone issuse. I mean can you honestly say that you yourself have not partaken in any part of piarcy? NOTE: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&defl=en&q=define:piracy&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title Check that address before you answer

  30.5.2006 14:00 #12

• KillMan

  I am still sticking with my original opinion, but you are right, what were they thinking taking off the shield and putting on that stupid Thief show instead?

  30.5.2006 14:25 #13

• hektorian

  Can you tell me when the common monthly payment is 200 euro or even less, how the few hundreds which are having computers and access to internet at home will affect the major movie companies and labels. How when you have 200 euro, after you have paid the monthly expenses which with this money is impossible you can buy a software for 100 euro or a dvd for 20 euro. Or you say- well then they should not buy or use, then you will have a country with the development of an african one. Not that now it is not, but at least in the high tech part of our life to be a bit with the rest of the world. Also this P2P network is just for inside use, it is really hard to get in the BG network from outside well at least for the common users. And yet while people a sleeping in the street corruption is everywhere our beautiful police is catching the big " pirates"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  31.5.2006 11:59 #14

• jimi666

  ok guys hi,
  i live in bulgaria and most of u just talk.and most of u dont know enogh for that country.sure here is very big criminal area and all europe know it.but it is a such area cause of the government they are to blame and the police to they are the major problem not such sites like Arenabg.com and Zamunda.bg..............i can tell u one thing ,just emagine that your salary of your job is 200 eurs per month, is that enough money to live and to pay your taxes and for all?And here that is a good salary of u have it 200 euro.And now when they stop that sites people will not begun to buy that films and songs beleave me cause here there are no money for such a things,people (i mean most of people not that criminals and drug dillers which are famous in europe, but the normal people)here try to survive of that hopeless misery.And that was one of the pleasure they had to watch some film in the evening and to listen to some nice song.And the country try to take taht of them , and to fly up in the other countries eyes , but all that is only dust in their eyes.

  16.3.2007 08:38 #15

• d_totzev

  I aways compare the sherin files with the water.You can buy water from the store every day but yet some times you can dring from the tap for free.
  On the end of the day do you realy thing that a musc CD shoud cost $10 and more, why is the DVD's are $20 and what about those new HDDVD and Blu-ray on the price of $30...did I make my point...not Windows Vista premium $239.99.

  17.3.2007 15:22 #16