The police have arrested an individual in Cape Town suspected of illegally selling pirate Internet streaming devices and online content subscriptions.

The arrest follows co-operation between the South African Police Service, MultiChoice Group and MultiChoice subsidiary Irdeto.

“The investigation followed information received by the police’s provincial commercial detective unit … regarding these pirate activities that enabled people to view MultiChoice South Africa content, as well as that of other international TV providers, illegally,” MultiChoice, which owns the DStv platform, said in a statement on Friday.

Irdeto worked closely with the police in the investigation, which led to the arrest and confiscation of pirate Internet streaming devices and server equipment, the group said.

The accused appeared in court on 5 December and the case was postponed to February 2020. He was released on R2 000 bail.

“Content redistribution is a growing problem and has emerged as one of the main forms of piracy in recent years, particularly when it comes to live content such as high-profile sports events,” said MultiChoice group executive for corporate affairs Joe Heshu. “It is important for us to work with the relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure we swiftly and purposefully address this criminal activity.”

‘Criminal enterprise’

MultiChoice said it is illegal to provide content to any person or any third party without the consent of the rights holders in accordance with the Copyright Act and Electronic Communications & Transactions Act.

“Content theft has become a full-fledged criminal enterprise, providing illegal subscriptions to compete with established operators, and actions like this are crucial in the fight against piracy,” said Frikkie Jonker, anti-piracy director at Irdeto, in the statement. “To effectively combat piracy, content owners, operators and service providers must rely on cutting-edge anti-piracy technologies to identify the source of pirated content and allow for its immediate shutdown.”