Vegamovies Raid 2 Upd -

1. Introduction In early 2024, Indian law‑enforcement agencies carried out a second large‑scale operation targeting the notorious piracy platform Vegamovies . The “Vegamovies Raid II” was a follow‑up to a 2022 crackdown that had already forced the site to migrate several times across domains and hosting providers. This write‑up outlines the background of Vegamovies, the details of the second raid, the agencies involved, the legal ramifications, and the broader impact on the digital piracy ecosystem in India and beyond. 2. Background: What Is Vegamovies? | Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | Nature of the service | A free, ad‑supported streaming portal that hosted thousands of copyrighted movies, TV series, and regional content without the permission of rights‑holders. | | User base | Estimated millions of monthly visitors from India and the diaspora, drawn by the “zero‑cost” model. | | Revenue model | Primarily advertising (pop‑unders, banner ads, and affiliate links) and occasional premium “download” services. | | Legal status | Repeatedly flagged by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Indian film producers’ associations, and copyright holders as an infringing website. | | Previous enforcement action | In October 2022, the Indian Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (ICCI) seized several servers, resulting in a temporary shutdown; the site resurfaced under new domains and mirrored hosting. | 3. The Second Raid: Timeline & Execution | Date | Event | |------|-------| | 15 January 2024 | Intelligence gathered by the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicated that Vegamovies was still operating via a network of offshore servers. | | 20 January 2024 | A coordinated raid was launched in Hyderabad , Bangalore , and Delhi . Authorities seized three data‑center premises and arrested four individuals identified as administrators. | | 22 January 2024 | A search warrant executed at a residential address in Chennai resulted in the seizure of additional hardware (servers, networking equipment) and laptops containing source code and user data. | | 28 January 2024 | The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 63, 65, and 66 of the Information Technology Act, alleging copyright infringement , unauthorized access to computer systems , and money laundering (through ad revenue). | | 5 February 2024 | Courts granted a temporary injunction preventing the domain name “vegamovies.com” and its known aliases from being re‑registered in India. |