Six OiNK Users Charged Following Interpol Investigation

Six users of the biTorrent OiNK, a file-sharing website which shut last year, have been charged in relation to illegal music downloads.

A 25-year-old IT worker from Middlesbrough has been charged with conspiracy to defraud, while the remaining five face copyright infringement penalties.

OiNK, which had servers based in Holland, was closed last October following a joint operation between Interpol, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the British Phonographic Industry.

The operation was launched last year after the IFPI revealed that the members only download site had already leaked sixty pre-release albums in 2007.

OiNK operated by allowing its users to swap files using BiTorrent protocol. A sister site, called BOiNK, was established following its closure.