U.S. Indicts 13 in Breakup of CD Bootlegging Ring

U.S. Customs Service agents have broken up what is believed to be the largest bootlegging ring in the world, seizing 800,000 pirated recordings and indicting 13 individuals for allegedly conspiring to manufacture, import and distribute pirated compact discs in more than a dozen countries, primarily in Europe.

The indictments, handed down March 27 in Orlando, Fla., mark the culmination of a yearlong undercover operation conducted by the agency with the assistance of federal prosecutors and the Recording Industry Assn. of America. .The pirated recordings were confiscated over the last three months in a series of undercover raids and make up nearly 80% of the volume of counterfeit recordings seized in 1996.