Gardaí are set to crackdown on the sale of dodgy boxes in Ireland.
Gardaí have launched a new crackdown on the sale of ‘dodgy box’ devices in seven counties around Ireland this week.
The counties currently being targeted are Cork, Dublin, Galway, Laois, Louth, Mayo, and Monaghan, with the investigation being led by the Federation Against Copyright Theft alongside the Gardaí.
‘Dodgy boxes’ are devices used to bypass paid TV channels illegally. Codes can also be sold to access extra paid content like premium sports channels.
The devices have seen a rise in Ireland over the past few years, with a similar crackdown earlier in 2023 resulting in several sellers of the boxes getting shut down by authorities.
In April, a Dublin man who sold the boxes to 150 people and charged them €12 per month for codes was sentenced to 240 hours of community service,
This crackdown is set to target the sellers of the products, rather than the homeowners who purchase them.
Ireland has the sixth highest use of dodgy boxes in the EU, according to an EU report into illegal internet protocol television (IPTV) in 2019.
A spokesperson for the gardaí said that there are “a number of live investigations” by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) Intellectual Property Crime Unit, with “some matters currently before the courts.”
READ MORE
- Electric Picnic goers warned about new ‘pink cocaine’ drug
- It’s officially autumn: Pumpkin spice latte returns to Starbucks next week
- You won’t believe how much Kim Cattrall got paid for her ‘And Just Like That’ cameo
