International Mega Raid Against IPTV Piracy: Operation KRATOS 2 Dismantles 9 Criminal Networks

The landscape of pirate IPTV has now become a multi-million dollar business, with networks that are increasingly professional and organized, light years away from the amateur projects of two decades ago. This growing professionalism has triggered an equally severe response from international law enforcement, which is now targeting these complex infrastructures with large-scale operations, well beyond simple cease-and-desist letters. The latest of these is KRATOS 2, a coordinated action on multiple fronts that has shaken the illegal sector.

The operation, orchestrated by the Bulgarian Directorate General for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) with operational support from Europol, was not an isolated strike. It lasted for months, from September 2025 to April 2026, involving a broad coalition of countries: Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as Bulgaria itself.

KRATOS 2: Impressive Numbers, but Elusive Details

The numerical results, reported by TorrentFreak, are quite significant. Press releases mention the dismantling of 9 criminal organizations, 29 arrests, and the identification of another 86 suspects. In total, investigators conducted 148 home searches. With 72 ongoing criminal investigations and 59 cases already referred to the judicial authorities, further developments can be expected. Yet, despite these significant figures, there is a notable absence: no concrete references to the operation's “targets.” Unlike previous actions against giants like Streameast or Fmovies, where the names of seized domains were explicitly mentioned, in this case, there is only a general reference to “169 reported domains” and 27,332 URLs removed, without specifying where they came from, or whether they belonged to one or more entities.

Even private sector partners, including giants like ACE/MPA, LaLiga, UEFA, Friend MTS, beIN, and Irdeto, actively contributed by identifying thousands of domains, IPs, and URLs related to piracy. However, even here, the numbers, while substantial, remain relatively modest compared to traditional DMCA removal campaigns, which, for instance, see Google removing nearly 10 million URLs from its index every day. The unusual lack of names of platforms, operators, or seized domains stands in stark contrast to the accuracy of data on the rest of the operation. Authorities might wish to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations, but a clearer context regarding the actual targets and the effective deterrent impact would have facilitated independent verification by the press. Europol, however, offered a possible explanation: the operation deliberately targeted the **