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Alex Bell, 29, of Chafford Hundred, Essex, Steven Dowd, 39, of Sandpiper Close, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, and Mark Vent, 30 of St Leonards Close, Grays, Essex all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. They were sentenced to two and a half years, two years and 18 months respectively for conspiracy to defraud.

The men were members of the DrinkOrDie gang: a sophisticated organisation that employed expert engineers

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to crack software, sometimes weeks before it was commercially available. The software would subsequently be offered through warez websites, costing software companies millions of pounds in lost earnings.

In 2001 the group was busted by the FBI in 'Operation Buccaneer', and the subsequent investigation involved authorities from around the globe including the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, part of the National Crime Squad, in a joint operation with the US Customs Service Cyber Smuggling Team.

Detective Superintendent Mick Deats, Deputy Head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit said: 'Internet piracy is a growing problem, with organised crime now moving into this space and defrauding the individual, business and governments of millions of pounds.

'We are sending out a clear message to people who may wish to commit these types of crime that policing is matching them every step of the way, to ensure we protect individuals, business and government from all forms of hi-tech crime.'