Man charged in connection with intellectual property theft, Clydebank

Following an intelligence led operation between Police Scotland and Sky, a 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with intellectual property theft.

Officers attended a property in Clydebank on Wednesday, 8 February, 2023, and arrested a man in relation to the distribution of illegal IPTV services, which provide unauthorised access to pay TV content.

Detective Inspector Andy Maclean, of Police Scotland Cyber Investigation Department, said: “This was an intelligence led, multi-agency operation between Police Scotland and partners.

“From today's operation, we’ve seized a large amount of computer hardware and technology which will be analysed by our detectives to identify further offences and take appropriate action.

“Anyone tempted to purchase one of these services should be aware that their money is going towards a fraudulent scheme, and they might well find themselves having a visit from police or other authorities.

“Money from such activities might well be used to fund other crime, so people need to be aware of that. This is, without doubt, a form of organised crime.

“Police Scotland will continue to work with partners to tackle this type of crime."

Matt Hibbert, Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky, said: “We’d like to thank Police Scotland for taking this action.

“More and more effective action is being taken across the country by police and partners to tackle the organised criminal networks responsible for digital piracy.

“This type of action helps protect consumers from the very real risks associated with piracy, such as malware, fraud and identity theft.”