Seven people of Chinese nationality were arrested during an anti-piracy raid of Italian internet cafes yesterday. The cafes were allegedly used to reproduce, store and distribute millions of copyrighted content files which were made available to web users via an illegitimate subscription file sharing service. Users of the illegal service had access to huge amounts of music, films and business software in return for a nominal subscription fee.
The raids were conducted by the Fiscal Police of Prato, a town near Florence, in association with trade bodies representing the music, film and software industries, including the Italian music industry's anti-piracy body FBM, and saw officials seizing 462 computers from 8 internet cafes.
The owners of the cafes were arrested on the order of the Public Prosecutor of Prato while a further 23 people were reportedly indicted for the violation of several administrative laws and for illegal immigration.