IPTV and Kodi box users have been warned after a man was jailed for selling dodgy devices.
Paul Jaques, of West Yorkshire, sold around 2,500 illegal devices, with accompanying illicit subscriptions.
He was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to supplying set-top-boxes which illegally provided access to premium pay TV content.
It is the latest in a series of actions designed to crackdown on illegal streaming.
Assistant Chief Constable Pete O’Doherty, national policing lead for IP Crime, said the sentence should act as a warning to even those who simply stream material illegally.
“The severity of the sentence handed down in this case underlines the seriousness of this crime and should act as a warning to anyone involved in online piracy – both those facilitating the activity and those watching at home," he said.
“The sums involve also underline just how much harm online piracy causes to the creative economy, which supports millions of jobs in this country.”
Between 2015 and 2019, Jaques received more than £200,000 from the sales of the set-top boxes through his website and via online marketplace eBay, which allowed consumers to bypass legitimate subscriptions to access premium sports, film and TV content.
His tough sentence is just the latest in a series of court cases linked to piracy.
In June this year, Mark Schofield was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years for selling devices that provided access to paid-for content including sport and films via his Facebook page.
This followed the conviction of Daniel Aimson, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Aimson sold illegal devices that bypassed paid-for TV content – costing legitimate service providers more than £2million.
There have also been numerous raids up and down the country, as Police tackle the source of this illegal activity.
