Football’s English Premier League has hailed a police crackdown on the sale and distribution of illegal television set-top devices following the arrests of five people yesterday (Wednesday).
The individuals were apprehended in Wales and the north-west of England.
Fully-loaded illegal set-top devices were seized at the homes of the five suspects.
The arrests resulted from an investigation by UK intellectual property protection body Fact on behalf of the league and its pay-television live rights partners, Sky and BT Sport, as well as the Virgin Media pay-television platform.
The crackdown follows the first prosecution of illegal set-top box sellers in England late last year. Terry O’Reilly was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2016 while a second supplier, Will O’Leary, received a two-year suspended sentence.
“Like other sports and creative industries, the Premier League’s model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect its intellectual property,” the league’s director of legal services, Kevin Plumb, said.