Pirate IPTV Raids Ongoing in Italy as Police Hit 900K Member Network

[upnorth]

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https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-iptv-raids-ongoing-in-italy-as-police-hit-900k-member-network-221111/

Italy's Polizia Di Stato reports that a huge operation targeting an IPTV piracy network is still ongoing after being launched nationwide overnight. The currently unnamed network reportedly serves 900,000 users and reportedly generates millions of euros in monthly profits. Video seems to confirm a raid on a location where Sky content was being captured for illegal redistribution.

Over the past several years, Italian internet users have grown increasingly fond of the ‘pezzotto’, aka pirate IPTV boxes. According to recent estimates, 23% of the population – around 11.7 million people – consume live TV illegally. If incoming reports from Italian police live up to the hype, the local piracy market may have just received a considerable blow. Italy’s Polizia di Stato (State Police) says officers are currently engaged in a nationwide operation to take down a huge pirate IPTV network. Police began raiding locations across the country during the early hours of Friday morning with almost two dozen towns and cities named as follows:
Ancona, Avellino, Bari, Benevento, Bologna, Brescia, Catania, Cosenza, Fermo, Messina, Napoli, Novara, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Roma, Salerno, Siracusa, Trapani, L’Aquila e Taranto

Police say the targeted IPTV network is vast, with early reports indicating 900,000 subscribers being serviced nationwide. When combined, police say these customers generated “profits of millions of euros” every month for the network’s operators.

Pirate IPTV Raids Ongoing in Italy as Police Hit 900K Member Network * TorrentFreak

Italian police report that a huge operation targeting an IPTV piracy network is still ongoing after being launched during the night.

torrentfreak.com

 

[upnorth]

In a joint operation carried out by Spain's Policía Nacional and EUROPOL, a major pirate IPTV service serving half a million users across Europe has been shut down. Police say packages included 2,600 live TV channels and a 23,000-item VOD library, generating annual profits of more than €3 million for the operators. Four people have been arrested and 95 resellers placed on alert.

In the wake of Italian police shutting down a 900,000 user pirate IPTV service last week, police in Spain have followed up with an operation of their own. Information provided by Policía Nacional and EUROPOL does not include the service’s name but according to the numbers, the operation appears significant. The IPTV service had more than 500,000 subscribers all over Europe, serviced by a network of resellers. Police say they disabled 10 administration panels connected to 32 servers located in France, the Netherlands and Spain. Those locations are reported as playing host to “illegal television content” and related computer equipment. Packages bought by subscribers gave them access to 2,600 live TV channels plus a library of 23,000 movies and TV shows. An interesting factor is the reported age of the service – at least a decade of operations according to Spanish police.

Major Pirate IPTV Service Raided, Four Arrests, 95 Resellers Face Investigation * TorrentFreak

Spain's Policía Nacional and EUROPOL have shut down a major pirate IPTV service with more than 500,000 users. Four people have been arrested.

torrentfreak.com