An illegal network, which broadcast unauthorised television programmes, series and other content from streaming platforms on the Internet and social networks, has been taken down in Naples by the Guardia di Finanza.
The operation, which involved the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Naples and the Special Unit for the Protection of Privacy and Technological Fraud of Rome, was coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Silvio Pavia and the additional prosecutor Alessandro Milita (third section – economic crime – of the Naples Prosecutor’s Office).

The investigations revealed that the head of the criminal organisation, in addition to dealing with the illegal distribution of content, ran a chat group, through which he sold, for a fee, child pornography. In just four years, the pirate, by charging his numerous users a monthly sum of €10 (€80 annual), managed to earn over €850,000. Some 6,000 users have been identified and will be fined.

Three people have been arrested, two of whom are required to report daily to the judicial police. Around 1,600 items of child pornography, sold via WhatsApp, were found in the home of the head of the organisation. Furthermore, the investigation has allowed the identification of 6,000 private users who paid for the services through bank transfers to Italian and foreign bank accounts. Of these, about 2,000 are said to have used cryptocurrencies for payments, with funds accumulated in 64 digital wallets, now seized.