Expendables 3 Web Leak: Two Men Arrested

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of leaking Sylvester Stallone's action film The Expendables 3 online, a month before its release in cinemas.

The Hollywood film illegally appeared on websites in July, in a move which cost the film's makers, Lionsgate and Millennium Films, millions of pounds.

City of London Police said the leaked film was viewed hundreds of thousands of times online.

Detectives from the police intellectual property crime unit (PIPCU) arrested a 36-year-old man at his home in Upton in the Wirral and a 33-year-old man at his home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Police believe the pair stole the film from a cloud-based system before uploading it on to the internet.

The two men have been taken to local police stations for questioning.

In August, Stallone told Sky News: "I understand people want to get something for nothing, who doesn't? But it affects the fact that studios will start to lose confidence and won't put big big numbers in there and a lot of people will lose their jobs. It's a ripple effect."

The film also stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes.

Head of PIPCU Detective Chief Inspector Danny Medlycott said: "Today's operation shows you the significant impact intellectual property crime has on our creative industries, with millions of pounds being lost as a result of criminal actions.

"The public need to be aware that piracy is not a victimless crime. By downloading illegal music, film, TV and books, not only are you exposing your own computer to the risk of viruses and malware, but you are also putting hardworking people's livelihoods at risk as piracy threatens the security of thousands of jobs in the UK's creative industries."

A City of London Police spokeswoman said these are the first PIPCU arrests of people suspected of obtaining a film prior to release and without permission.