"It was a protection racket just like those run 40 years ago in London's nightclubs, " says Michael Deats, detective superintendent of the U.K.'s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

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Both men were arrested in dawn raids by officers from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU)and were among 12 men arrested in a worldwide swoop covering 10 countries.

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This week saw the official unveiling of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) which, as its name suggests, will specialise in the investigation of crimes that involve net and computer technology.

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Mr Deats, deputy head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), said that greater use of online shopping and banking was making the net a tempting target for organised crime groups.

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Berg has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan since 1989, apart from a four-year stint from 1999 to 2003 when he served as Chief of the High Tech Crime Unit at the Michigan Department of the Attorney General.

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