Six arrested over alleged piracy

Police in Cleveland have confirmed that six people were arrested for allegedly sharing pre-release music files via the now defunct website OiNK.cd.

Five men aged between 19 and 33 and a 28-year-old woman were detained in the last week of May "in relation to uploading pre-release music", according to Cleveland police.

All six have since been released on bail without charge, pending further inquiries. It is not yet known which specific laws the six are meant to have broken.

OiNK was shut down in dramatic fashion in October 2007 when Interpol, acting with Dutch and British police, carried out a number of dawn raids in the North East of England and at several addresses in Amsterdam.

The site allegedly gave members the chance to download and share high-quality pirated music before it was released.

The BPI, which represents the record industry in the UK, said in a statement that they had worked with the IFPI and the police to close down OiNK last October, but they were unable to comment further as it is now a matter for the police.

The OiNK site has since returned to its domain owner and offers bespoke web design services as well as news on the closure of the BitTorrent site last October.

http://oink.cd
www.bpi.co.uk