In a major operation conducted by the Dutch fiscal police (FIOD) and supported by Europol, one of Europe’s largest pirate IPTV operations has been dismantled, resulting in the arrest of four individuals and significant disruptions to the service. The targeted organization, which remains unnamed, provided access to over a million users across Europe through third-party resellers.
The raids and searches were carried out in multiple cities throughout the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Almere, Enschede, The Hague, and Den Helder. Authorities seized cars, computers, bank accounts, and substantial amounts of cash during the operation.
Local anti-piracy group BREIN, which applauds the action, plans to file criminal charges on behalf of several major rightsholders affected by the illegal IPTV service. The operation charged a monthly subscription fee of approximately 10 euros and offered access to more than 10,000 TV channels and a vast library of 15,000 on-demand movies and TV series, causing significant financial losses to content creators and legitimate streaming platforms.
BREIN’s director, Tim Kuik, described the investigation as the largest of its kind in the Netherlands, involving a criminal organization responsible for the widespread sale of illegal IPTV subscriptions. The damages incurred in the Netherlands alone are estimated to be in the tens of millions of euros.
While the name of the targeted IPTV operation is undisclosed, the service’s distribution was traced to a data center in Den Helder. Speculations point to GLOBE DataCenter as the potential facility, as its office was featured in a photo accompanying a Dutch news report on the police action. The data center’s website is currently unreachable, suggesting a possible network-wide shutdown.
The successful raid and subsequent arrests serve as a significant blow to the pirate IPTV network and send a strong message that authorities and anti-piracy groups are committed to protecting the rights of content creators and combating digital piracy. The investigation highlights the severity of the threat posed by illegal IPTV services to legal streaming platforms and emphasizes the importance of robust enforcement measures in safeguarding the digital entertainment industry.