A Europol operation conducted during the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympics dismantled a network of illegal streaming of sports events and other pirated content.
This was reported by AP, informs “European Pravda”.
Law enforcement agencies of the European Union have identified more than 560 intermediaries who sold pirated content, including streaming of films, series and TV channels.
Spain's La Liga, which cooperated in the investigation, said more than 100 suspects had been identified and 11 more had been arrested.
“The operation was carried out in the context of major sporting events this summer, such as Euro 2024 and the Olympic Games, with the main objective of combating digital piracy in the form of the publication, distribution and broadcasting of digital content that is the subject of copyright and related rights,” – said a statement from Spain's top football league.
More than 100 searches were carried out, nearly 30 servers and 270 IPTV devices were seized, as well as 100 domains linked to illegal activities.
Drugs and weapons were also seized, and around €1.6 million worth of cryptocurrency and €40,000 in cash were confiscated.
According to the Spanish La Liga, the network was distributing more than 2,500 TV channels and reaching more than 22 million users worldwide without the consent of the rights holders.
15 countries took part in the operation, including Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Operation Kratos lasted from June to September and brought together law enforcement agencies from EU and non-EU countries, as well as EU agencies and private companies involved in digital content.
Fighting piracy is also a requirement of the European Union for candidate countries, such as Ukraine. The EU has previously called on Kyiv to strengthen measures against piracy and counterfeiting.