Europol: 29 arrested in international operation coordinated by Bulgaria against illegal streaming
Criminal networks making millions from illegal access to premium sports broadcasts, film and television channels have been targeted in a major international operation coordinated by Bulgaria with Europol’s support, the European police cooperation agency said on June 3.
The seven-month operation resulted in 29 arrests, the dismantling of nine organised crime groups and the removal of over 27 000 illegal streaming URLs, Europol said.
Operation KRATOS 2 brought together law enforcement authorities from across Europe and beyond to target criminal groups profiting from the unauthorised distribution of copyrighted content through sophisticated online platforms.
The operation ran between September 2025 and April 2026, focusing on the criminal infrastructure enabling illegal IPTV services and unauthorised streaming platforms to operate across jurisdictions.
What appears to consumers as cheap access to premium content is powered by complex criminal enterprises, Europol said.
The groups behind illegal streaming services increasingly rely on complex technical infrastructure, separating customer-facing websites from the servers hosting the illegal content and distributing these services across several countries to avoid detection.
In addition to generating significant criminal revenue, these services expose users to cybersecurity risks, including malware infections, spyware, data theft and other forms of online exploitation, the police cooperation agency said.
Rather than focusing solely on taking down websites, investigators targeted the wider criminal ecosystem supporting these services. This approach enabled authorities to gather intelligence on the organised crime groups operating behind the platforms and identify key suspects involved in their management and technical operation.
Europol co-led the operational coordination alongside Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organised Crime.
The operation involved authorities from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Europol worked closely with strategic partners from the audiovisual and anti-piracy sectors, the statement said.
(Photo: Santeri Viinamäki, via Wikimedia Commons)
