Breaking: Major IPTV piracy ring busted in Dubai following Disney Star complaint

Disney Star India has taken its fight against piracy to the international stage. The Dubai police recently raided the operations of an alleged rogue Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider. The raid resulted in the seizure of IPTV boxes containing 12,000 pirated premium channels and content from various rightsholders.

According to sources, Disney Star filed a criminal complaint in Dubai against a rogue IPTV provider, primeproott.com, which was selling IPTV boxes through its website. The complaint states that the rogue operator charged Rs 5,750 for the box and Rs 2,300 for access to the application.

Dubai police conducted the raid on September 16, 2024, leading to the seizure of the IPTV boxes and the arrest of the pirate. The illegal sale of these IPTV boxes undermines the principles of broadcast licensing and negatively impacts the fees broadcasters pay for sports and entertainment rights.

The Disney Star's anti piracy team is currently in Dubai for further such crackdowns and is closely working with law enforcement agencies to tackle piracy in the MENA region. The arrested accused is considered as one of the notorious individual involved in distribution of pirated content to large number of users. The Dubai police is also investigating if other individuals are also linked to the case.

A source privy to the details of the case told Storyboard18, "Following the police raid, the website has been taken down. Such actions by Dubai police are highly commendable as they will deter others from engaging in content piracy."

Earlier, in June 2024, the Ahmedabad Police, along with Disney Star's anti-piracy team led by Major Ashok Yadav, dismantled a network of illegal streaming websites broadcasting ICC T20 World Cup matches. This operation resulted in the shutdown of platforms like magicwin.games and magicwin.com, which were not only streaming live cricket matches but also promoting illegal betting activities.