Alex Trelinski
EIGHT people have been arrested for providing pirate subscription television services to over 18,300 customers from two operational centres in Alicante and Sevilla provinces.
The Policia Nacional started investigating the group in February 2022 and put a €366 million value on the copyright breaches and lost revenue suffered by legitimate producers and providers.
Addresses were raided in the Alicante, Malaga, Sevilla, and Valladolid areas with two properties housing the entire online infrastructure which allowed the gang to provide illegal access to paid multimedia content including movies, sports, and drama series.
A large amount of equipment was seized including computers, tablets, smartphones and storage devices.
The police said the criminal organisation had a high degree of technological specialisation, which allowed them to remotely manage clients who accessed their services.
The clandestine network was run via a telecommunications consulting company that had a ‘strong’ sales and marketing structure.
The group used IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to offer fraudulent apps on tv boxes, Smart TVs and smartphones to its customers allowing them premium programming at rates well below the market price.
No further details have been revealed about the arrested group including their nationalities.
READ MORE:
- Illegal internet TV network dismantled throughout Spain, six arrested
- BLANK SCREENS as pirate TV supplier of ‘pay’ channels is arrested in Spain’s Murcia region
- British expats in Spain left without TV and movies as police bust €15 million illegal streaming network
- TV pirate on Spain’s Costa Blanca defrauded providers of over €210,000 via UK-based scheme
