Law enforcement agencies take down illegal IPTV service providers

Law enforcement agencies across Europe have dismantled one of the largest illegal streaming service networks operating globally.

According to Europol and Eurojust, over 560 resellers and 102 suspects were identified, of whom 11 were arrested.

They were directly responsible for illegally distributing copyright protected material from streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+ and Paramount to over 22 million users worldwide.

The Italian state police and district prosecutor state that the suspects also pirated over 2,500 illegal channels and servers, earning over €250 million per month, or €3 billion a year. By illegally selling paid subscriptions, the suspects caused more than €10 billion of economic damage to the companies that provide streaming services.

The suspects communicated with encrypted messaging services and used fake identities to register phone numbers, credit cards and TV subscriptions. They used their fake identities to rent servers across Europe and China. These were taken offline last Tuesday.

Law enforcement agencies conducted over 112 house searches in China, Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the process, over €1.6 million worth of cryptocurrency and €40,000 in cash were seized, along with various drugs and weapons.

In addition, 29 servers were seized, and 100 domains were taken down.

Besides illegally offering streaming services via IPTV and copyright infringement, the suspects are also accused of money laundering and cybercrime.

Law enforcement agencies from Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom participated in this operation.

Europol and Eurojust supported and coordinated the operation between the law enforcement authorities. Other agencies that took part in this operation were the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) and @ON Network.