Laurence Dollimore
A DUTCH expat is among eight people to have been arrested for allegedly running an illegal IPTV service in Spain.
The suspects were apprehended in Malaga, Oviedo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Madrid following an investigation by the Policia Nacional.
According to the force, the organisation made almost €5.5million by offering more than 130 international television channels and thousands of films and series to its customers.
Anyone who was using the IPTV service is now blocked from accessing the content.
Customers will instead be redirected to a Policia Nacional web page with a message that the material has been blocked.
The in-depth investigation began in November 2022 following a complaint lodged by the Alliance For Creativity and Entertainment group.
The group claimed content which they solely owned the rights to was being illegally streamed by the IPTV service.
The Policia Nacional’s cybercrime unit detected several IPTV websites being managed by companies directed by the alleged ringleader, a Dutch expat based in Gran Canaria.
His organisation is accused of intercepting satellite signals around the world to decrypt and gain access to restricted content.
The company then charged more than 14,000 customers up to €19 per month, or up to €169 per year, to gain access to said content.
