After being deployed in Malaysia, bootleg busting dogs Lucky and Flo have come the United States.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
So are their days of sniffing out plastic discs over? Will they now enjoy a doggie vacation in a dog spa? Hardly.
A recent bust in the Queens district of New York saw the seizure of “thousands” of pirated DVDs from three retail outlets from the Jamaica section of Queens. Operators of these operations were also arrested.
District Attorney Brown said, “For the first time in the United States, specially trained DVD sniffing dogs have actively participated in a criminal investigation aimed at combating DVD piracy. The dogs passed with flying colors by successfully ferreting out hidden contraband at a number of locations. Man’s best friend has become a DVD counterfeiter’s worst nightmare as we now welcome this latest weapon into our law enforcement anti-piracy arsenal.”
“The MPAA has a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, including public outreach and enforcement. And since last year we’ve added two more very talented crime fighters to our arsenal, Lucky and Flo, the world’s first DVD-sniffing canines,” said John Malcolm, Executive VP and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA.
“Lucky and Flo are in New York to help raise awareness about the pervasiveness of film theft and about the dangerous nature of many of the criminal syndicates that engage it,” continued Mr. Malcolm. “I commend the Queens District Attorney for his efforts to fight film piracy in his jurisdiction and for utilizing these amazing pups in yesterday’s raid. We are pleased and proud to assist him in his ongoing efforts to combat this pernicious crime that puts money into the hands of serious criminals and deprives creative artists of their right to make an honest living creating works of movie magic that we all enjoy.”
The three defendants are currently being charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting and first degree failure to disclose the origins of a recording. The maximum sentence for these actions by the defendants is 4 years in prison.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
