Three arrests made as cops crack down on digital TV piracy.

Byline: Crime Reporter [email protected] Ben Eccleston

THREE men have been arrested for digital TV piracy after raids were carried out in Coventry.

Officers swooped on a commercial premises and three homes in the Stoke area on Monday and a number of items were seized in relation to the sale and distribution of fraudulent digital TV packages. Coventry Police were joined on the raids by colleagues from Trading Standards and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).

They also unearthed a cannabis factory at one of the residential addresses and a quantity of plants were recovered.

The three men, aged 38, 48 and 51, were arrested on suspicion of fraud, while the 48-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis.

They have all been released on police bail while inquiries continue.

Pc James Rees said: "Acting on information from the community we are determined to crack down on those who we suspect are committing criminal offences around the distribution of fraudulent digital TV packages.

"This sort of crime affects everyone and costs the broadcasters and members of the public thousands of pounds each year."

Kieron Sharp, director general of FACT, said: "Pub landlords and the general public need to be aware that set-top boxes allowing access to pirated TV, sports and films are very much illegal.

"You may think this type of crime is victimless but the reality is that piracy affects the lives and jobs of hundreds of thousands of people in the TV and film industry.

"We would like to thank West Midlands Police and Trading Standards for their support in this investigation and hope Monday's action is a strong warning to anyone involved in this criminality that we take piracy very seriously."

'"This sort of crime affects everyone and costs the broadcasters and members of the public thousands of pounds each year." pc james reece