Virgin Island officials say they seized tens of thousands of pirated DVDS and movies on St. Croix Wednesday.
The operation — which linked officials from the FBI, U.S. Immigrations and Customs, U.S. Marshals and Virgin Islands police – was initiated after the St. Croix offices of FBI and Immigrations and Customs (also known as ICE) began receiving complaints regarding the sale of pirated DVDs in front of the K-Mart building in the Sunny Isle shopping center, as well as in other gas stations and convenience stores.
Officials say police verified that several businesses were indeed engaging in the sale of pirated movies and music.
Businesses targeted were the Tide Village Gas Station in Christiansted, Budget Service Station in Christiansted, Everybody’s Service Station at 35A La Grande Princesse, Nigel’s 1,2,3 at two different locations, King Street Market at two different locations, Choice Service Station, Five Corners Service Station in Christiansted, Catherine’s Rest Grocery Store, Bentick’s Liquor Store in Christiansted, Seven Days Service Station in Frederiksted, Eagle Mini Mart in Frederiksted, Lower Love Service Station in Frederiksted and W1R Supermarket on Mon Bijou Road.
For-profit copyright infringement carries a penalty of not more than five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Any proceeds are forfeitable to the government and the United States is authorized to destroy the materials, as well as the materials used to produce the illegal products.
Anyone with information about video piracy can contact the FBI at 773-7922 on St. Croix and 777-3363 on St. Thomas and ICE at 778-6559 on St. Croix and 693-2250 on St. Thomas. ICE can also be reached at 787-729-6969.
