After a massive increase in sports streaming from Sky Sports in the UK, the British police have issued arrest warrants for sellers of pirated “sticks” for cable TV in the region.
Authorities have been stepping up their fight against the use of illegally modified “firestick” devices since last year, but they are now “looking into other tactics” to end this trend once and for all.
Emma Warbey, head of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, explained that the authorities are ready to arrest those who continue to break the law despite repeated warnings.
She explained that most Brits are able to use their pirated firesticks without fear of being handcuffed because the police are focusing on “resellers and people at the top of the hierarchy” in organized crime groups.
“We always follow the money and hit the biggest criminal groups and networks,” she told the Financial Times. According to her, while many people watching their shows via modified firesticks think it is a “victimless crime,” that is not true.
“These criminals are using that money, your hard-earned money, for many different things, usually drugs, certainly forced labor, human trafficking, and a huge amount of other crimes that you are fueling,” Warbey warned.
The police have been using letters to intimidate sellers of these illegal TV services, according to her. Apparently, these warnings have been “very effective” so far.
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