The network primarily consisted of university undergraduates, but was supported by software company employees, who would leak copies of software and other digital media.
On December 11, 2001, U.S. law enforcement agents, led by the [U.S. Customs Service]?, raided M.I.T., the [University of California at Los Angeles]?, the [University of Oregon]? Duke? and Purdue?, as well as several software companies. Raids were also held in Britain, Australia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Many computers were seized and people questioned, though no arrests were made on the day of the raids, pending review of materials seized.
The DrinkOrDie website, where the software could be downloaded for free, was also shut down that day.
The raid at MIT was in the economics department; the University of Oregon raid at an off-campus location; the Duke raid in the campus dormitory of a male undergraduate. The universities themselves were not considered targets of the criminal investigation.
The commissioner of the Customs Service, [Robert C. Bonner]?, characterized DrinkOrDie thusly:
The DrinkOrDie archives included business software as well as movies including [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]?, [Behind Enemy Lines]?, [Monsters Inc.]?, and [Spy Game]?.
[Internet Piracy Is Suspected as U.S. Agents Raid Campuses, The New York Times, December 12, 2001]
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