Following a collaborative investigation between the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London and the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Officers from PIPCU arrested a man, aged 47, at his home in Penmaenmawr, Wales on 29 April 2025; on suspicion of copyright offences.
The individual is suspected to have obtained thousands of films, television series and songs without the necessary licence or permissions from the copyright owners and then distributed them through a file sharing torrent site. The content included two recent Hollywood films that were leaked before their official release dates.
Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association commented: “This decisive enforcement action reinforces the message that piracy is not a victimless crime—it damages creators, disrupts legitimate businesses, and endangers consumers.”
Officers shut down the site and seized two laptops and several hard drives for further examination. A large quantity of discs, which were used to store some of the content, were also seized.
The man was later released and is under further investigation.
Both agencies issued the same press release
Man arrested in global piracy case. Press release. May 22, 2025. Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). City of London Police
Man arrested in global piracy case. Press release. May 22, 2025. Motion Picture Association
Why it matters
“This is a crime that diverts funds away from the creative industries, money that not only supports artists, but thousands of technical and support staff working in this sector,” said Detective Constable Jason Theobald of PIPCU. “It’s estimated that this type of criminal activity contributes to around 86,000 job losses each year alone.”
