Hyderabad: In a major anti-piracy crackdown, Hyderabad Cyber Crime police arrested six members of what they believe is the country’s largest movie piracy gang. They seized computers, hard drives, laptops, internet tools, and other equipment during the raid.
Gang leaked latest Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil films
The gang recorded newly released films in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil without permission. They then sold the pirated content through online platforms, earning crores in illegal income. Police estimate the film industry suffered a loss of nearly ₹22,000 crore.
Investigators found that the gang accessed satellite content by cracking secure IDs and passwords used for theatre screenings. Agents hid spy cameras inside clothing, popcorn boxes, and soft drink tins to record movies directly inside cinemas.
Global links exposed; cryptocurrency used for payments
The probe began after repeated complaints linked to the hashtag “#SingleCinemaPiracy.” On July 3, police arrested a suspect named Kiran from Vanasthalipuram. Based on his inputs, they traced connections to piracy operations in Dubai, the Netherlands, and Myanmar.
The gang sold pirated films to multiple websites. They paid their agents in cryptocurrency to avoid detection.
