Crime syndicates have taken to the high seas to manufacture pirated music and movie CDs and VCDs for distribution in Malaysia, a top police official said today.

The new trick was aimed at escaping intense police operations to smash their activities, said Mazlan Ayob, the Balik Pulau district police chief in the northern Penang state.

"The manufacturers produce thousands of pirated copies on board ships anchored in international waters. They will then dock their vessels at the various ports or jetties along the state's coastline to drop off their products," he told AFP .

Mazlan said the marine police had been asked to be on the lookout for the pirate ships in the busy Malacca Straits between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Police in Penang last week launched "Operation Green Ribbon" to nab peddlers of illegal CDs and VCDs and Mazlan said they had already arrested four retailers and seized over 1,000 pirated copies.

"What is shocking is that they have produced copies of Hong Kong star Jackie Chan's movie 'The Tuxedo'," he said, pointing out that it had not yet even been released in the United States.