'DVD pirates want to kill dogs'
2007-03-22 16:33
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian piracy syndicates are trying to assassinate two black Labradors after the dogs helped find millions of dollars of fake DVDs and CDs, said officials on Thursday.
Lucky and Flo sniffed out the discs during a raid by Malaysian officials on Tuesday at an office tower in Johor Baru, the capital of Johor state.
"Sources informed the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs that syndicate members are looking for the dogs," said Firdaus Zakaria the ministry's enforcement assistant director.
"The dogs are a genuine threat to the pirated disc syndicates, thus the instruction to eliminate them," he was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times.
The two dogs, who hail from Northern Ireland, are said to be the only ones in the world trained to detect polycarbonate and chemicals used in optical discs.
They either freeze or sit down when they sniff a nearby haul, and are rewarded by playing with a tennis ball when they have done their job.
Dogs 'under heightened security'
The dogs were brought to Malaysia last week for a one-month trial by the Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Association (MPA), which conducts piracy investigations for major motion picture companies.
Neil Gane, of the MPA, said the dogs were in a secure location in Kuala Lumpur under heightened security.
"A government agency informed us of the threat against the dogs and they have assisted in terms of enhancing the security that is currently surrounding the dogs," said Gane.
Despite the threat, Gane said Lucky and Flo would continue their mission - known as "Operation Double Trouble."
'Protect our four-legged investigators'
Gane said: "We are taking the threat very seriously and it will be taken into consideration when we are planning and co-ordinating with the ministry where we are deploying the dogs next.
"Like with any investigator on two legs, we also protect our four-legged investigators," he added.
Counterfeit movies are openly sold on the streets of Malaysia and other Asian nations at heavy discounts.