'Stolen' Clones men to be sentenced

The film stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen

Two men accused of trying to sell a stolen copy of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones on internet auction site eBay will be sentenced in July.

The two Canadians pleaded no contest on Tuesday to receiving and concealing stolen property, said Rebecca Tenorio, spokeswoman for the Wayne County prosecutor's office in the US.

Amer Khawaj, 21, and Inderpreet Grewal, 20, both of Etobicoke, Ontario, were accused of stealing two canisters containing reels of the film from a cinema in Woodbridge, Ontario.

Authorities say the men tried to sell the reels on the eBay site for $3,000 (£2,000).

Piracy has proved to be a world wide problem for the film

Police received a tip-off that the men were trying to sell the film, and set up a meeting on 8 June in the car park of a Detroit restaurant.

Officers posing as buyers offered the men $2,500.

The men were arrested after the accepted the offer, according to police.

The men's plea of no contest plea is not the same as an admission of guilt, but sentencing is expected to follow on 24 July.

Fake videos

Piracy has been a worldwide problem for the latest Star Wars release.

The first UK counterfeit copies of Attack of the Clones were siezed at a Scottish market in May.

The film was among almost 2,000 fake videos and computer games confiscated by council officials in North Lanarkshire.

The team estimates that the haul was worth about £60,000.

The raid was carried out at Wishaw Market just three day after the movie premiered in Scotland.

The 2,000 counterfeit items were found on a single stall.

Some of the movies found had only recently been released in British and American cinemas.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft confirmed that it was the first seizure of Episode II: Attack of the Clones in the UK.