Officers from the National Police, in a collaborative investigation with the Guardia di Finanza of Italy, have dismantled a “pirate” distribution centre in Barcelona which would broadcast television channels over IPTV.
In Spain there have been 4 people arrested, in addition to the 61 arrested in different European countries, 54 in Italy, 4 in France, 2 in Germany and 1 in Italy.
The organisation specialised in the distribution of audiovisual content and payment channels from Spain, and obtained about 100,000 euro per month for the broadcast of the illicit signal from pay-TV channels, using the IPTV (Internet Protocol for Television) system.
The investigations in Spain began thanks to a request by the Office of the Prosecutor of Rome, in the framework of the investigation carried out by the Guardia di Finanza, about an organisation accused of crimes against intellectual property, criminal association and money laundering. This band operated in several European countries giving a service that allowed viewing payment channels in exchange for the payment of a fee.
With the information provided by the transalpine police, the agents established a surveillance device around the home of an Italian citizen and resident in Barcelona. The efforts led the police to a new building, also located in the city of Barcelona, where the suspect spent several hours a day.
The concluding investigation found 10,000 subscribers to the TV system across Europe, all having paid a fee to the gang in order to view the broadcast, none of which was given to the original owner of the rights or the channels.
In the framework of this investigation, four people have been arrested in Spain and two searches have been carried out in Barcelona, in addition to another 61 arrested in Europe, in Italy (54), France (4), Germany (2) and Switzerland (1), as well as to the 58 registries carried out in Italy (55), Germany (1), France (1) and Switzerland (1) in which a large amount of evidence was intervened of the illegal activity of the organisation.
