PATTAYA, Thailand – The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has released details of a recent raid on a large warehouse at Pak Kret, a city in Nonthaburi province which is part of the greater Bangkok metropolitan area. The 8,000 sqm premises, a massive center of signal interception and conversion, hosted a major illegal streaming service, mostly involving international football and Hollywood movies. Police seized large numbers of signal decoding boxes and paraphernalia, satellite technology and mobile phones.
Bank books for mule accounts and money laundering were also seized, indicating that the pirate operation also stretched to internet gambling on a considerable scale. Illegal streaming sites often serve as platforms to funnel users into online casino gambling and sports results. Sometimes customers are allowed to watch for free pirated materials provided they indulge in online roulette or poker or slots. Police major Yutthana Praedam, deputy director general of DSI, said that the illegal streaming had concentrated on premier league football and Warner Bros movies.
Streaming without authorization is illegal in Thailand under the Copyright act 1994, with updates in 2022. Downloading for “non-commercial purposes” can result in fines up to 200,000 baht (US$6,000), whereas commercial copyright infringement can incur larger fines and a jail sentence of up to four years. However, there is no record in Thailand of subscribing individuals being prosecuted, only the actual investors and operators.
The international monitoring company MUSO tracked worldwide 216 billion visits to pirated material in 2024. The scope has now moved beyond decoder boxes or websites to include closed messaging groups and dedicated apps which are harder to track. Although companies infringing copyright are regularly closed down, others regularly spring up to fill the gap. In Thailand, the leading pay-tv operator True Visions Group and the Motion Picture Association, an industry pressure group, urge police crackdowns to protect lawful income which is at risk from pirates.
Pattaya over the years has had a troubled history of illegal streaming services. In 2002 a technician fell off a condominium building as he was trying to fix a satellite dish which provided pirate viewing of 400 international programs. In 2008 a British entrepreneur publicly but foolishly offering to sell decoder boxes “so you can watch Coronation Street at the same time they watch it in Manchester” was arrested and deported. In 2023 a software dealer in a well known Pattaya mall was arrested after a dissatisfied customer complained to police that he had been sold too many boring programs about India. The store owner was ordered to close for three months to enable a thorough review of the mischief.
