Suspects in ‘Expendables 3′ Hacking Arrested in the U.K

Two men believed to be the culprits behind the premature release of “The Expendables 3″ have been arrested in the north of England. A 36-year-old man was taken at his residence in Upton and a 33-year-old man at his house in Dewsbury for questioning.

The two were taken by U.K. anti-piracy police. They are suspected of stealing a copy of the Sylvester Stallone actioner from a cloud-based system and uploading to the Internet on July 25, weeks ahead of its theatrical U.S. release on August 15.

Back in 2009, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” also leaked. Bronx resident Gilberto Sanchez was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison for illegally uploading the film on Megaupload. The torrent site was later shut down and sued by MPAA over monetary damages.

Unlike “Origins: Wolverine” which leaked in its rough cut, the “Expendables 3″ arrived early in its high-quality copy. Lionsgate also took legal action against the operators of file-sharing websites, suing those who ignored their request to have the stolen file removed.