The Spanish National Police and Europol "successfully raided" one of the largest European illegal IPTV streaming businesses, according to Chris Dziadul of BROADBAND TV NEWS. In a collaborative operation with Europol, Eurojust, Spanish specialized computer crimes prosecutors, Premier League and Irdeto, "12 locations were raided in Spain and Bulgaria." Dubbed "Operation Casper," eight individuals were arrested for the illegal distribution of 1,000 pay-TV channels across two ISPs through the use of IPTV technology. The "servers used to provide illegal access to the channels were shut down and numerous documents incriminating the individuals under investigation were also confiscated." The investigation was "initiated by the Premier League as part of a global effort to combat illegal online redistribution of its live broadcasts." Irdeto identified a Danish citizen residing in Spain who owned an ISP in Málaga "used to illegally broadcast encrypted TV signals to thousands of consumers and businesses across Europe." Premier League Legal Services Dir Kevin Plumb said, "These actions are just one part of the largest anti-piracy campaign the Premier League has conducted to protect its copyright" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 4/11).
