Pirate IPTV Investigation Leads to Two Arrests in the UK

[Matrix]

Two people from Hampshire in the UK have been arrested on suspicion of supplying pirate TV streaming services. A 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were detained by police following a referral from the Federation Against Copyright Theft. They were later questioned by Trading Standards officers on suspicion of copyright infringement and money laundering offences.

Illegal IPTV services can be found all over the world but if recent investigations are an accurate barometer, several countries in the European Union are hotter locations than most.

While Spain, Bulgaria and the Netherlands have all seen raids or arrests, it is the UK that keeps featuring regularly in IPTV investigations. This week is no exception.

Following an investigation and referral by the Federation Against Copyright Theft, two people were arrested yesterday in connection with the unauthorized streaming of TV broadcasts.

Officers from Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards unit assisted by local police executed a warrant at an address in Bursledon, Hampshire.

Local media reports that a 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested under suspicion of offenses under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and money laundering.

“Providing copyright material such as that from Sky or BT Sport, brings a significant loss to legitimate businesses – this is illegal and I would urge residents to be careful when they are signing up to subscription services from third parties as it is also illegal to watch,” Hampshire County councilor Roy Perry said in a statement.

“It is possible to trace this type of online activity, and we will continue to investigate and pursue those involved in illegal streaming of copyright television as it threatens the livelihoods of those working legitimately in the industry and the wider UK economy.”

The arrests stem from a year-long multi-agency investigation, initiated by the Federation Against Copyright Theft, which identified pirate IPTV suppliers in the UK. Portsmouth.co.uk adds that yesterday’s arrests are part of a wider investigation coordinated by Europol, which has already led to warrants in South Ireland and Scotland.

Investigations involving Trading Standards are relatively rare in the UK but not unheard of (1,2). Perhaps the most notable was the prosecution of modded Kodi box seller Brian ‘Tomo’ Thompson who was handed a suspended sentence in 2017.

 

Source

[straycat19]

First they go after the distributors, then they will go after the users.  Similar to what the cable companies were doing back in the 90s.  They first went after the distributors of the illegal 'filters' then they went after the people who were using them. 

[steven36]

5 hours ago, straycat19 said:

First they go after the distributors, then they will go after the users.  Similar to what the cable companies were doing back in the 90s.  They first went after the distributors of the illegal 'filters' then they went after the people who were using them. 

You sound like a fear mongering  commercial for  Dish Network or ACE blah ,blah , blah .. Fact is Sky has been raiding TV box sellers and IPTV since 2015 and they not went after no one who used them in UK , they dont even go after people who torrent in the UK  they only go after people who distributes and block websites witch is easy got around. The USA has went after downloaders before and piracy just got worse.

 

They may of went after people for stealing cable in the 1990s but to get free cable someone has to climb up a pole too get extra channels they have to use a modified cable box .  And  in the early 2000s most TV piracy was still around they just switch to using black satellite boxes .

 

From the Eye of a Legal Storm, Murdoch's Satellite-TV Hacker Tells All

https://www.wired.com/2008/05/tarnovsky/

 

Now days with streaming they cant even sell satellites or cable to anyone who has fast internet.

Smart TVs and Streaming Boxes Are Killing Cable Television |

http://time.com/4875549/cable-cord-cutting-streaming-television/

 

So what you talking about years ago is a thing of the past were people signed contacts with cable providers and put chips in the boxes and the cable company hired a PI  to watch rings of box sellers go in and out of someones homes and  gave them a choice to pay a $500 fine or go too court.

 

Cable TV Company Goes After Pirates, in One Zap 1991

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/25/nyregion/cable-tv-company-goes-after-pirates-in-one-zap.html

 

The OP is talking about the internet were there are 1000s of  IPTV providers  that may  be half way around the world from the buyer. They could get rid of every seller in the UK and people there can just buy it from somewhere else. Same thing happened  when they went after pirate sites for downloads in the USA  , All the pirate sites went to using servers overseas .

 

Back  before the  www  in the 1980s  the FCC use to come to peoples house for running illegal  2 way radios and Amps and take there stuff and fine them.  but that didn't mean people didn't still do it and sell them . And after the FCC allowed the USA to have 40 ch instead of 23 ch the FCC quit caring,  i guess there money got  cutout for such programs  and it was like the wild west tell the www came along and most people stop using it and went to Facebook. The general public went on the Internet in August 1991 and been pirating every since  and the FCC never done nothing .  

 

My uncle who was in Army who taught electronics  back in the 1980s is the one who teach me how to modify radios   and fix them , He got my family interested in pirate radio and he worked for the Government   and retied from the U.S Army that was his whole life, a career officer even   . 

 

 

 

[halvgris]

i used to live in the uk when i left there was no legal way to even subscribe to sky and/or any other channels.

 

it's about time for these cable/dish-comapanies to save their own market by allowing people what the pirates

already provide. that is the only way to wash away pirates.

 

there is another alternative to wait for some company like spotify to take over and you eran pennies instead

of pounds.