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STOP THIEF! NINTENDO
THWARTS PIRACY
Copyright 2005 Nintendo Corp
[ April 15th 2005 ]
The FBI
has arrested four Chinese nationals in New York
for allegedly distributing video game consoles
that contain Nintendo's famous game software.
With approximately 40 FBI agents, they seized
more than 60,000 illegal products during five
raids on April 13. The illegal products, marketed
under the brand name 'Power Player,' contain dozens
of pirated versions of popular Nintendo games
like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt.
Authorities
say that between September and December 2004,
the defendants imported 27 cargo containers holding
more than 280,000 counterfeit video game systems.
After several meetings, the defendants revealed
to the undercover FBI agents the locations of
their warehouses and provided information about
their distribution network. On April 13, the undercover
agents, posing as toy distributors, arrested the
four defendants and confiscated illegal products,
computers and business records. The FBI conducted
accompanying searches in Queens, N.Y., Brooklyn,
N.Y., and Maple Shade, N.J., near Philadelphia.
"Nintendo
applauds the actions taken by the FBI. U.S. law
enforcement authorities have played an instrumental
role in attacking piracy in the U.S. and abroad,"
says Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's director
of anti-piracy. "Nintendo will continue to work
with local, state, national and international
authorities to combat the growing problem of product
piracy around the world."
The New
York raids are just the latest in a long line
of criminal actions that Nintendo is currently
supporting. For more than a decade, Nintendo of
America Inc.'s anti-piracy team has led the charge
against video game piracy around the world. During
the first quarter of 2005, the team reports that
more than 80 seizures of counterfeit Nintendo
products were conducted, resulting in the confiscation
of close to 180,000 products globally. In another
FBI action earlier this month, a defendant in
a Minnesota case pleaded guilty to copyright infringement
and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
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