A major international operation coordinated by Bulgaria targeted criminal networks making millions from illegal access to premium sports broadcasts, film and television channels were taken down, with support from Europol. The seven-month operation resulted in 29 arrests, the dismantling of nine organized crime groups and the removal of over 27,000 illegal streaming URLs.
Operation KRATOS 2 brought together law enforcement authorities from across Europe and beyond to target criminal groups profiting from the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content through sophisticated online platforms.
Operation KRATOS 2 ran between September 2025 and April 2026, focusing on the criminal infrastructure enabling illegal IPTV services and unauthorised streaming platforms to operate across jurisdictions.
It was another chapter in an ongoing operation. In November 2024, a multi-national team coordinated by Europol and Eurojust executed an anti-piracy operation that took 100 pirate domains out of service, in an operation also known as ‘Operation Taken Down.‘
Results of the operation
The coordinated actions led to:
- 29 arrests out of 86 identified suspects
- 148 house searches
- 9 organised crime groups dismantled
- 59 cases referred to judicial authorities
- 72 ongoing criminal investigations
- 169 domains reported
- 27,332 URLs removed
- 722,961 infringing objects identified
Through this collaboration, authorities identified:
- 4,370 new domains linked to piracy activities
- 18.331 IP addresses associated with illegal services
- 397,384 URLs reported for suspension or removal
- 126,979 additional infringing objects
The operation also benefited from extensive cooperation with private sector partners, whose intelligence contributed to the identification and disruption of criminal infrastructures linked to illegal streaming services.
Participating partners
The operation involved authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Europol also worked closely with strategic partners from the audiovisual and anti-piracy sectors, including AAPA, ACE/MPA, LALIGA, UEFA, Friend MTS, beIN Media Group and Irdeto.
Partners’ involvement
Europol co-led the operational coordination alongside Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP). Throughout the operational phase, Europol facilitated intelligence exchange between participating countries, coordinated cross-border cooperation and provided operational and technical support to national authorities. Europol also supported the collection and analysis of operational results to identify emerging threats and support future investigations targeting digital piracy networks.
Information received from private sector partners was shared securely through Europol’s Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA), enabling investigators to develop a comprehensive intelligence picture of the criminal ecosystem and coordinate action across multiple jurisdictions.
In its own statement, LALIGA said it will continue to work with authorities, international organisations and industry partners to combat audiovisual piracy networks, protect the value of competitions and strengthen user safety against illegal services that, under the guise of cheap access to premium content, form part of complex criminal structures.
Why it matters
What appears to consumers as cheap access to premium content is powered by complex criminal enterprises. The groups behind illegal streaming services increasingly rely on complex technical infrastructure, separating customer-facing websites from the servers hosting the illegal content and distributing these services across several countries to avoid detection.
In addition to generating significant criminal revenue, these services expose users to cybersecurity risks, including malware infections, spyware, data theft and other forms of online exploitation.
Rather than focusing solely on taking down websites, investigators targeted the wider criminal ecosystem supporting these services. This approach enabled authorities to gather intelligence on the organised crime groups operating behind the platforms and identify key suspects involved in their management and technical operation.
Further reading
Similar press releases were issued by multiple organizations
29 arrested as law enforcement strikes criminal networks behind illegal streaming. Press release. June 3, 2026. Europol
LaLiga participates alongside Europol and international authorities in a new offensive against audiovisual piracy. Press release. June 3, 2026. LaLiga
Operation KRATOS, aks Operation Taken Down: Further details emerge about 2024 Europe-wide pirate sting. Article. January 20, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
