Three of the most popular sites for illegally downloading Android apps have been seized by law enforcement agencies as part of a operation that also involved Dutch and French police. Both Appbucket and Snappzmarket now display FBI seizure notices, and according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) a further site, Applanet, has also been seized. At the time of writing Applanet remains active, but its marketplace is currently offline.

In a statement on its site, the DOJ says that "this is the first time website domains involving cell phone app marketplaces have been seized." With Android piracy rates reportedly at 60 percent, the DOJ's move will undoubtably please many developers. It's not only Android that suffers from piracy, however, and iOS piracy havens such as Hackulous may well be next on the DOJ's list.