Twenty-nine people have been arrested and nine organised crime groups dismantled in a Europol operation targeting networks accused of profiting from illegal streaming of premium sport, films and television channels.
The seven-month crackdown, called Operation KRATOS 2, ran from September 2025 to April 2026 and was coordinated by Bulgaria with support from Europol, the EU police agency announced on Thursday.
It focused on criminal infrastructure used to run illegal IPTV services — internet-based television streams — and other unauthorised streaming platforms, according to the agency.
More than 27,000 illegal streaming URLs were removed during the operation, Europol said. Investigators also identified 86 suspects and carried out 148 house searches.
Authorities referred 59 cases to judicial bodies and reported 169 domains, while 72 criminal investigations remain ongoing.
Europol also reported 722,961 “infringing objects” identified, a term it used for items linked to copyright breaches.
Cross-border coordination and industry cooperation
Europol said it co-led operational coordination with Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organised Crime.
It added that it helped participating countries exchange intelligence and coordinate cross-border action.
Information from private-sector partners was shared through Europol’s Secure Information Exchange Network Application, known as SIENA.
The operation involved authorities in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Private-sector partners provided intelligence that led to the identification of 4,370 new domains linked to piracy activities and 18,331 IP addresses associated with illegal services.
Partners also reported 397,384 URLs for suspension or removal and identified a further 126,979 infringing objects.
