Cops nab 6 men for offering Astro content illegally

Police say suspects believed to be part of syndicate that allegedly offers Astro channels illegally via Android set-top boxes at much-lower monthly fees.

Police have detained six men believed to be members of a syndicate that allegedly offers illegal Astro channels with a lower monthly subscription via online streaming and card sharing.

Bukit Aman (Federal Police) Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the suspects, aged between 39 and 53, were picked up in raids in the federal capital and Johor Bahru since yesterday.

“Police also seized various equipment believed to have been used for the ‘live streaming’, including 12 units of parabolic modem or routers, over 500 Astro decoders and cards, Android set-up boxes, mobile phones, laptops, computer tablets,” he said in a statement here today.
Acryl Sani said initial investigations revealed that the syndicate, which was believed to have been making profits of over RM900,000 per month, had been operating since 2015 with over 30,000 customers nationwide.
The men were being remanded for three days, beginning today, to facilitate investigations under Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987.
- Bernama