Sixty arrested in pay TV piracy round-up
Friday, August 7, 2009 @ 6:26 PM
Spanish police have arrested 60 individuals this week, among them hotel managers and presidents of communities of residents in several provinces, mainly in Andalucía and the Canaries, in connection with the pirating of pay-TV channels.
Also arrested were the administrators of two websites that illegally uploaded the signal, mainly for football matches, from a digital television platform.
The operation has also uncovered a number of cable networks in Tenerife, Malaga, Cadiz, Cordoba and Granada, that charged subscriptions for providing an unauthorised signal to private homes and hotel rooms.
Some of those arrested worked with people based in the UK who provided the necessary documentation to allow them to draw up false contracts with the British TV companies.
Police have seized tens of thousands of false contracts and invoices that amount to a fraud to the tune of several million euros, as well as decoders and smart-cards.
Source: Sur in English