International Piracy on the Rise
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
A recent investigation by a Russian Agency showed that copies of movies like "The Da Vinci Code" could appear within five days of the Russian release.
Indonesian Commandoes search for copies of The Da Vinci Code
Piracy problems are so prevalent in Russia that even the Russian Anti-Piracy Organization, or RAPO (pronounced Rape-Oh), currently has a warehouse full of $7 million worth of pirated DVDs.
Meanwhile, outside Kuala Lumpur, two UN ships carrying tsunami rebuilding supplies were attacked by pirates. The pirates stole and damaged equipment on the first ship and robbed the crew of the second ship. On each ship, they left behind hundreds of copies of The Da Vinci Code.
Also, in this same area, a Japanese cargo ship had to fight off pirates. The pirates came on an unlit speedboat, attacking the 27,000 ton Japanese ship. They tried to board, but were pushed back with fire hoses. It is not known how many copies of The Da Vinci Code they were trying to force onto the crew.
