Digital feed hacking and betting: Hyderabad cops bust hi-tech movie piracy racket, 5 held

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on digital piracy, Hyderabad cyber crime police have dismantled a nationwide movie piracy network, arresting five individuals involved in illegally recording and distributing films.

Investigations revealed that the racket was financially backed by online betting platforms, exposing a sophisticated nexus between illegal entertainment distribution and digital gambling.

Scale of Industry losses

Commissioner Anand highlighted the devastating financial impact of piracy: “In 2023, India’s entertainment industry lost an estimated Rs 22,400 crore, with Tollywood alone suffering Rs 3,700 crore in 2024.”

Complaint sparks probe

The case began on June 5, when the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) lodged a complaint after pirated versions of HIT: The Third Case and Single surfaced online.

Acting on the complaint, police launched a multi-state probe with support from TFCC’s anti-piracy cell.

First arrest in Hyderabad

On June 30, police arrested 29-year-old AC technician Jana Kiran Kumar from Vanasthalipuram, who had secretly filmed #Single in an Attapur theatre using a hidden mobile app.

He admitted to working under the directions of Cyril Infant Raj, a 32-year-old computer graduate from Tamil Nadu, who instructed him to record over 40 films and transfer them via Telegram.

Tamil Nadu techie at the Helm

Police described Cyril as the “mastermind” of the racket. Arrested on July 28 from Karur, he confessed to uploading over 550 movies since 2020, sometimes at the rate of 15 per month.

Using 10 cryptocurrency wallets and multiple bank accounts, Cyril reportedly earned nearly Rs 9 lakh a month from betting platforms such as Match, Raj Bet and Kora Bet, which advertised on piracy portals like Tamilblasters, 5MoviezRulz and ITamilMV.

To evade detection, Cyril used dedicated Paris-based virtual servers, VPNs, virtual numbers, and Telegram channels. “He demanded up to $30,000 from betting firms for ad space on his sites,” police commissioner CV Anand revealed.

Bihar, Patna and Beyond

On August 11, police tracked down Aslan Ahmed (23) from Jehanabad, Bihar, who had been recording Hindi and Bhojpuri films for Cyril. Further investigation led them to Ashwini Kumar (21) of Patna, a self-taught hacker who breached digital cinema servers to steal HD movie prints, sometimes before release. He had illegally downloaded over 150 films and fortified his home with 22 CCTV cameras.

Police froze Rs 1 lakh in his crypto wallet and found evidence of hacking into government portals, e-commerce firms, and even election commission servers.

Tamil Nadu link and Wild Encounter

The probe also uncovered Sudhakaran (31) of Satyamangalam, Tamil Nadu, who was supplying recordings of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. His arrest during a prisoner transit nearly turned dangerous when a wild elephant attacked vehicles near Mysuru, but the police team escaped unhurt.

Film producers, including Dil Raju and TFCC’s anti-piracy cell head Raj Kumar, welcomed the crackdown and urged the public to shun pirated content and avoid betting platforms linked to such crimes.

A High-Tech Cat-and-Mouse Game

Police were stunned by the pirates’ sophisticated methods — from scanning ticket-booking sites for sparsely filled theatres, to using apps that concealed recording activity, to deploying virtual servers abroad. “Despite elaborate precautions, forensic analysis and inter-agency coordination helped us track them down,” said DCP Kavitha, who supervised the four-month operation.