Three individuals that had taken part in a enormous deception by means of marketing set-top boxes which in turn permitted individuals illegal cost-free access to Virgin Media’s cable tv stations are actually jailed for 15 years.

The actual individuals produced, imported as well as supplied in excess of 400, 000 set-top boxes throughout the UK in a three-and-a-half yr operation, a court at Snaresbrook Crown Court had been informed.

The particular swindle, referred to as the biggest commercial scam to have recently been prosecuted in the united kingdom, is actually considered to have cost Virgin Media £144 million annually.

The actual set-top boxes had been marketed between January 2005 and November 2008 to vendors and also dealers throughout the UK and Northern Ireland.

Even though it had been illegal to make use of the boxes, buyers had been fooled into shelling out hundreds of pounds on the units simply because they provided the means to access Virgin Media’s cable tv products without having subscription.

A Virgin Media spokesman stated the business’s counter-measures frequently disabled unofficial boxes whilst the roll-out of brand new encryption technologies over the cable tv system ensured that all those such set-top boxes happen to be currently useless.

Virgin Media started a personal criminal prosecution following a large-scale combined operations with the Metropolitan Police at Redbridge, Essex, and also New Scotland Yard.

Munaf Ahmed Zinga, forty, coming from Plaistow, Essex, that bought and sold the actual Eurovox-branded set-top boxes by means of his company Rayyonics Ltd, received an eight-year sentence. His associate, Mukandun Pillai, 39, coming from Hainault, has been jailed for six years. The particular jury convicted these individuals of conspiracy to defraud.

The 3rd man, Salim Patel, coming from Plaistow, has been jailed for 12 months. He previously pleaded guilty to his aspect within the conspiracy by being employed as a transport driver for the business, shipping the actual set-top boxes to vendors plus collecting money in return.

Judge Inigo Bing stated when he sentenced the actual individuals last week: “As the entire programme of TELEVISION services might be costly, the defendant’s item had fantastic appeal to those members of the public that had less than exemplary scruples. The actual possible marketplace for free TV is enormous. “

Virgin Media head of fraud and security Malcolm Davies said: “Virgin Media’s dedicated security team has worked closely with police forces and forensic teams throughout the UK to identify the people behind this crime and bring them to justice.

“This case demonstrates that the courts take this type of commercial fraud very seriously and that they will act strongly.

“This sentence should also act as a serious warning to members of the public to steer clear of selling or purchasing illegal TV or broadband equipment.

“Purchasing unlawful equipment such as this only serves to fund organised crime and we will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals and groups connected with this type of fraud to the full extent of the law.”

Metropolitan Police Sergeant Colin Smith said: “This has been an extremely successful operation which has seen the sentencing of the instigators of one of the biggest commercial frauds to be implemented in the UK.

“I would also like to urge the public to be aware that using set-top boxes that have been illegally modified to receive digital TV subscription channels for free are committing a serious criminal offence. Anyone receiving channels that should be paid for are at risk of being prosecuted.”

Munaf Ahmed Zinga, 40, from Plaistow, Essex, who traded the Eurovox branded set-top boxes through his business Rayyonics Ltd, who got an eight-year sentence. His assistant, Mukandun Pillai, 39, from Hainault, was jailed for six years.

The jury at convicted them of conspiracy to defraud.

The third man, Salim Patel, from Plaistow, was jailed for 12 months. He had earlier pleaded guilty to his part in the conspiracy by working as a delivery driver for the company, transporting the set-top boxes to suppliers and collecting cash in return.

Judge Inigo Bing said when he sentenced the men last week: “The concept was to provide members of the public with access to television services for which they would normally be required to pay.

“As the full programme of TV services can be expensive, the defendant’s product had great appeal to those members of the public who had less than exemplary scruples. The potential market for free TV was enormous.”

The “simple” concept required a combination of business acumen, provided by Zinga, and technical know-how, provided by Pillai, he said, adding: “Virgin’s security systems were robust and difficult to get around and overcoming them would have required considerable know-how.

Emulating a genuine Virgin box was difficult and therefore it required you to commission the manufacture of the box in Korea.

“Software was needed for a box to be programmed or flashed. It wasn’t easy. Such software is highly illegal.”

The fake set-top boxes were marked as satellite units to avoid detection by customs.

Virgin Media, which brought the private prosecutions, was represented by a team from leading media law firm Wiggin led by solicitor Neil Parkes who instructed specialist counsel David Groome and Ari Alibhai