Four held in £3m illegal TV streaming raids

Four people have been arrested in connection with an illegal TV streaming network thought to be worth millions.

The raids, across Greater Manchester and Lancashire, uncovered 10 servers and other sophisticated equipment worth £750,000.

A 40-year-old man from Blackpool, a 49-year-old man from Bolton and two women, aged 40 and 21, also from Bolton, were held on suspicion of conspiracy to distribute items infringing copyright and money laundering.

The City of London Police said one of those arrested last week was suspected to have "generated more than £3m in revenue".

The force said its investigation began after Sky reported suspicious activity.

During the operation, officers shut down the servers and those arrested were later released under investigation.

Det Con Jordan Day said: "These services are not harmless alternatives, they are examples of organised criminal operations generating millions in illegal profits.

"It is more important than ever that our team works to protect the integrity of broadcasting and the millions of people who rely on it.

"Those who profit from piracy will be held to account."

Matt Hibbert, group director of anti-piracy at Sky, said: "We take the protection of our content extremely seriously given the significant investment we make, and will continue to work with the police and industry partners to disrupt the criminal networks behind piracy."

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