8 nabbed over illegal DStv signal access........
becareful Zambains.........
A SCAM has been unearthed in which some
people are selling decoders that are providing
illegal access to DSTV channels.
Police in Lusaka have since arrested eight
people, among them a named former ZNBC
employee, in connection with the vice.
Acting police spokesperson Esther Katongo said
in Lusaka on Monday that following an
operation conducted at the weekend, police also
seized 42 decoders, among other electrical
gadgets, which the accused manipulated using
a certain software to access the DStv signal
without using a smart card and paying
subscription.
Ms Katongo identified the suspects as Margaret
Zwelopili, 38, Gloria Mwamba,24, Lawrence
Sinyangwe, 28, John Mwape, 24, Sililo Simushi,
29, Funny Zimba, 31, and John Manda, 36.
Ms Katongo said the eight who were currently
in detention have been charged with possession
and unlawful dealing in electronic
communication apparatus capable of monitoring
or intercepting the transmission of an electronic
network or service.
She said the eight were further charged with
unlawful access of a television signal or
channel by using decoders and would appear in
court soon.
MultiChoice Zambia general manager Simon
Bota said he was happy that the police together
with the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting Service were able to crack the
syndicate.
Mr Bota said such illegal activities jeopardised
the jobs MultiChoice had created and the
television industry as a whole.
I would also like to discourage those people
who purchase these decoders because the only
way you can access the DSTV channels is by
paying monthly subscription through Multi
Choice for the DSTV service but if you are
receiving it free of charge then obviously there
is a problem, he said
He said the scourge had been going on for a
while and that what had been unearthed was a
tip of an ice berg, adding that the Multi Choice
business had negatively been affected but could
not immediately quantify the damage.
Intellectual Property specialist Kingsley Nkonde
said the decoders in question operated with a
SIM Card and that the culprits installed the
gadget with software that allowed free access
to all the DSTV channels.
Mr Nkonde also produced a Facebook printout
in which the decoder dealers were advertising
the gadget sold at K1,600 and those who
bought it would access the DSTV full bouquet
channels for free for one year coupled with over
700 free-to-air channels and only needed to
bundle their SIM cards with K5 for internet
services.
Information Permanent Secretary Bert Mushala
warned the perpetrators that it was unlawful for
anyone to access a television signal as outlined
in the amended Copyright and Performance
Rights Act No 25 of 2010.
The Ministry, working together with the
Intellectual Property Unit under the Zambia
Police Service, has started closing in on the
perpetrators and some of them have already
been arrested, he said.