Overview
- Officers from the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit executed warrants across Greater Manchester and Lancashire, cutting power to servers at the locations.
- Ten servers and associated equipment worth more than £750,000 were confiscated, with each server valued at roughly £75,000.
- A 49-year-old man from Bolton, a 40-year-old man from Blackpool, and two women aged 21 and 40 from Bolton were arrested on suspicion of copyright conspiracy and money laundering, then released under investigation.
- Investigators allege one suspect generated over £3 million in revenue from the illegal streaming operation supplying content to millions.
- Sky reported widespread disruption to unlawful streams, while police warned users they risk prosecution under the Fraud Act 2006 and industry measures such as Amazon’s Fire TV update are blocking illicit sideloaded apps.