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Law enforcement operations targeting pirate sites and services are often enthusiastically described as \u2018large-scale\u2019 or \u2018major\u2019. <\/p>\nLaw enforcement operations targeting pirate sites and services are often enthusiastically described as \u2018large-scale\u2019 or \u2018major\u2019. <\/p>\n
If reports emerging from authorities in Italy hold true, describing the international operation that culminated early this morning as massive, wouldn\u2019t be an exaggeration. <\/p>\n
Operation Takendown<\/em> is said to have targeted what may be the largest pirate IPTV network serving Europe, authorities say, and the numbers involved are some of the largest ever seen. <\/p>\n The District Attorney\u2019s Office of Catania, a Sicilian city with strong links to organized crime, claims that the network served 22 million subscribers and generated an estimated \u20ac3 billion per year, causing \u20ac10 billion in damages to subscription TV broadcasters.<\/p>\n The operation was carried out through a collaboration between law enforcement agencies, including Europol and Eurojust, and the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA).<\/p>\n A total of 14 searches were executed in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, and Croatia. Servers and IPTV panels were traced to the UK and the Netherlands during searches that reportedly took place on Tuesday. In Croatia, police executed precautionary custody orders against 11 suspects. <\/p>\n Across all of these countries, 102 people are suspects in the investigation, including administrators of the IT infrastructure. The authorities say that the main servers in the network were located in the Netherlands, Romania, and China (Hong Kong), although no enforcement was reported there. <\/p>\n The action, which received funding from the European Commission, reportedly took down 2,500 illegally streamed TV channels, plus a number of servers used to manage the IPTV operation. Police also seized cryptocurrency valued at \u20ac1,650,000 and an estimated \u20ac40,000 in cash.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the basis of the evidence collected and to be verified in court, it appeared that the subjects from Catania and the Netherlands, with the participation of numerous other Italian and other European countries under investigation, through IT structures spread throughout the world, had carried out the conduct deemed illicit by this Office for a long period of time,\u201d the Prosecutor\u2019s Office explained in a statement this morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThese illicit activities were interrupted thanks to the seizure of these structures.\u201d<\/p>\n The authorities describe a transnational organization, operating as a pyramid of suppliers, distributors, sellers, and resellers. The two-year investigation, which also involved intense monitoring of various social media platforms, identified two offices in Romania and Hong Kong, and nine servers said to be responsible for the supply of the illegal streams into Europe.<\/p>\n Three administrators of the service\u2019s IT infrastructure and 80 IPTV panels used to manage subscribers, were traced to the UK and the Netherlands. <\/p>\n Fake identities and false documents were used to register phones, obtain credit cards, subscribe to TV channels, and rent servers. Police monitoring of IPTV forums and various profiles used to advertise the availability of streams, played a part in identifying the suspects.<\/p>\n Andrea Duilio, CEO of Sky Italia, the company that triggered the investigation with an initial complaint, thanked those involved.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to thank the Catania Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the Postal Police, Europol, and the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance for this extraordinary operation in which we are proud to have collaborated,\u201d Duilio said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese results are the fruit of great synergetic work that has allowed us to dismantle a criminal organization that operated on an international scale. Actions like this, together with the systematic contribution of Piracy Shield, that allows us to block pirate sites in real time, make the fight against a phenomenon that damages the audiovisual industry by destroying thousands of jobs, much more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\nOperation Takendown: International Cooperation<\/h2>\n
Prosecutor\u2019s Office Provides Additional Detail<\/h2>\n