An American based in Shanghai who sold pirated DVDs on the Internet was deported back to the US yesterday after serving part of his prison term, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Randolph Hobson Guthrie III, 38, was released to officers of the US Department of Homeland Security after being arrested on July 1, 2004, in Shanghai.

On April 19, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail and fined him 500,000 yuan (US$61,600).

His three accomplices -- Abram Cody Thrush, Wu Dong and Wu Shibiao -- were all given jail terms ranging up to 15 months and fines of between 10,000 (US$1,233) and 30,000 yuan (US$3,699).

Thrush was deported on July 1.

According to an article published on March 7 in the Wall Street Journal, Guthrie, son of a wealthy Manhattan plastic surgeon, came to Shanghai in 1995.

He failed to find the type of job he wanted and happened onto the pirated DVD business.

He built a lucrative business, advertising DVDs on eBay.com and a Russian website, the Journal said, mostly selling James Bond DVDs to enthusiasts.

But one of Guthrie's ads on eBay was seen by a lawyer for MGM studios.

MGM notified the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which contacted Chinese authorities in Shanghai. They then launched the first joint Sino-US investigation into DVD piracy.

They observed Guthrie's operation undercover until they had enough evidence to move in.

Local police found about 210,000 pirated DVDs at three storehouses Guthrie owned.

Police revealed the four had sold pirated DVDs for US$3 each from November 3, 2003, to July 1, 2004.

The court said the criminals sold 133,000 pirate DVDs worth more than 3.3 million yuan (US$406,000) to more than 20 countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

They earned nearly 1 million yuan (US$123,300) from the business.

(China Daily September 30, 2005)