On July 3, two homes were searched, equipment seized, and two individuals were arrested in the West Midlands town of Oldbury, for operating an illegal streaming service. The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London Police spearheaded the operation.
Arrested were a 30-year-old man, who poice suspected of running the illegal service, and a 32-year-old woman on suspicion of distributing material infringing copyright and receiving criminal property.
The individuals were also operating seven servers that were distributing content illegally from a data center in Cheltenham. The servers were seized from the data centre. PIPCU believed that the seizure has caused major disruption to a number of pirate services.
Programming from Sky
The West Midlands service provided illegal access to Sky channels. “We will continue to work alongside the police and industry partners to tackle piracy and disrupt the criminal networks behind it,” said
Matt Hibbert, Group Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky. “This action helps to keep consumers safe from the serious risks that piracy can pose to devices and personal property,” he said.
A business premises in nearby West Bromwich was searched later on July 3, from which documents and computers were seized for further examination.
An investigation by PIPCU suggests that the man and woman received significant profits derived from the service. The individuals were later released pending further investigation.
Further reading
Two arrested and illegal streaming services disrupted. Press release. July 7, 2025. The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of the City of London Police
Why it matters
Regarding the West Midlands arrests, Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt of PIPCU said: “This activity should serve as a reminder that PIPCU will pursue criminals who seek to profit from illegal streaming and disrupt their operations. This is a crime that diverts funds away from the creative and entertainment industries, money that supports thousands of technical and support staff. At the same time, it exposes end users to the risks of data theft, fraud and malware.”
