Police Seize Hi-Tech Gadgets Used To Stream EPL Games To Kasarani Residents
Two individuals associated with Lime Fiber have been apprehended, and the Police Cybercrime Unit will conduct a forensic analysis to provide a comprehensive report on the extent of these unlawful activities.
Marvin Chege 
Kenya Police officers drawn from the Cybercrime and Crime Scene Forensic Units alongside the Partners Against Piracy (PAP) Association of Kenya mounted a sting operation on an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Nairobi accused of illegally streaming live sports content such as the English Premier League (EPL).
The collaborative operation spearheaded by PAP stormed Lime Fiber (Lime Emerging Solution Limited) in a decisive move against the illegal distribution of pirated content.
According to a statement sent to Viral Tea, the operation led to the confiscation of crucial equipment used in the illicit operation, including 5 mobile phones, 2 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) headsets and 3 Central Processing Units (CPU).
A photo of Kasarani Police Station. /NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE
Other items recovered were 12 hard drives, a laptop, 4 internet switches, and 1 optical line terminal.
"This intervention has disrupted the illegal services provided to approximately 3,000 subscribers in the Kasarani-Mwiki-Santon areas, who were illegally accessing premium content such as English Premier League (EPL), WWC, and La Liga live sports through the WeCast App," the statement read in part.
The investigations revealed that the WeCast App is installed on the client's mobile phone or digital television upon subscription to Lime Fiber Internet, where login details are provided by the perpetrators.
The distribution of pirated content by ISPs like Lime Fiber not only undermines the Kenyan economy but also harms the entertainment industry and content creators.
"This illicit activity deprives rightful owners of their due revenue and impacts the overall investment in quality content creation.
"Additionally, it creates unfair competition for other ISPs operating within the legal framework, adhering to copyright laws and ethical business practices," added the statement.
Two individuals associated with Lime Fiber have been apprehended, and the Police Cybercrime Unit will conduct a forensic analysis to provide a comprehensive report on the extent of these unlawful activities.
PAP, a multi-sectoral association formed to combat digital piracy, asserted that it remains steadfast in upholding the law and protecting intellectual property.
The association estimated that online piracy costs the country's creative economy approximately Ksh92 billion annually, or Ksh252 million daily, in gross losses.
The report reveals, for instance, that piracy deprives the music industry of Ksh15 billion and TV stations of Ksh8 billion annually.
An Irdeto survey has indicated that piracy is gaining traction, with users in five major African territories, including Kenya, making 17.4 million visits to the top 10 identified piracy sites on the internet in three months.
According to the Copyright Act, "the authorization of the right holder of a program shall not be required to decompile the program, convert the program into a version expressed in different programming language, code, notation for the purpose of obtaining information needed to enable the program to operate with other programs."
