Operation Buccaneer


Operation Buccaneer is an "ongoing international copyright piracy investigation and prosecution" undertaken by the United States federal government.
An undercover operation began in October 2000. On December 11, 2001, law enforcement agents in six countries targeted 62 people suspected of violating software copyright, with leads in twenty other countries. U.S. law enforcement agents, led by the United States Customs Service, raided computers in the economics department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Los Angeles, an "off-campus location" of the University of Oregon, and dorm rooms at Duke University and Purdue University. Information obtained led to a subsequent raid at the Rochester Institute of Technology, described by "warez gadfly 'ttol'" as one of "the two major hubs for communications between pirate groups". However, the universities themselves were not considered targets of the criminal investigation. Several software companies were also raided.
"The Customs Service said it had singled out DrinkOrDie because it was considered one of the most sophisticated of the rings operating within a loose, global network." The DrinkOrDie site, where non-free software could be downloaded for free, was shut down the following day. However, Farhad Manjoo wrote in a Wired magazine article that others were puzzled why the group was targeted; Manjoo characterized them as "small potatoes in the world of software theft", while an anonymous Australian infringer was quoted as saying, "they aren't the first to come to mind when you think to yourself 'who's the big deal in the scene?'"
Around 70 search warrants were served and 150 computers were seized for analysis. Raids were also conducted in Canada, Britain, Australia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Other groups investigated in the operation were warez groups such as RiSC, RAZOR1911, RequestToSend, ShadowRealm, WeLoveWarez and POPZ.
Related law enforcement actions include: Operation Fastlink, Operation Digital Gridlock, Operation D-Elite and Operation Site Down.

Quotations

Felony convictions

As of October 2002, 17 people have been convicted of felonies in the United States, with 13 given federal prison terms of up to 46 months. In addition, Australian resident Hew Raymond Griffiths, the self-admitted leader of DrinkorDie, fought extradition to the United States for almost three years, but eventually lost and was sentenced to 51 months, though he was credited for the time served in an Australian jail.
In the United Kingdom, six were formally charged. In May 2005, some DrinkorDie members were the first to be sentenced in the United Kingdom as a result of Operation Buccaneer.
NameScenenameConviction dateOffenseSentence
Berry, RichardFloodApril 29, 2002Conspiracy
Buchanan, AnthonyspaceaceAugust 19, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Clardy, AndrewDoodadApril 4, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Aiding and abetting
Cole, Myront3rminalJuly 10, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Eiser, DerekPsychodJune 21, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Erickson, BarryRadslMay 2, 2002Conspiracy
Grimes, David A.ChevelleMarch 4, 2002Conspiracy
Gross, RoberttargetpracticeMay 22, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Hunt, NathanAzideApril 3, 2002Conspiracy
Kartadinata, KentTenkukenJanuary 31, 2002Conspiracy
Kelly, MichaelEruptApril 10, 2002Conspiracy
Nawara, StaceyAvecMarch 19, 2002Conspiracy
Nguyen, MikeHackratJanuary 31, 2002Conspiracy
Pattanayek, SabujBujApril 11, 2002Conspiracy41 months
Riffe, JohnblueMay 9, 2002Criminal copyright infringement
Sankus, John Jr.eriFlleHFebruary 27, 2002Conspiracy46 months
Tresco, ChristopherBigRarMay 28, 2002Conspiracy33 months

Raid locations