The Half-Life 2 code theft saga entered a new chapter today when Valve Software announced that a series of arrests had been made in the case. According to Valve, suspects in several countries had been taken into custody in relation to charges stemming from the theft of the Half-Life 2 code, the distribution of the code, and the break-in into Valve's network.


Valve CEO Gabe Newell credited gamers with providing the information that led to the arrests. “It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime," he said in a statement. "Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community."
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/ha...s_6100381.html

I doub't this will get the game released any faster, but its still an interesting read. One of the more odd parts is the possibility that the Phatbot author is somehow connected with the theft. Hopefully more details will show up in the next few days about how many people were arrested and what the exact charges are.