The Premier League has armed itself with crack teams of tech experts and digital forensics specialists as it steps up its war on piracy.

After the largest ever prosecution saw five illegal stream chiefs jailed for more than 30 years top-flight officials have vowed to hunt down more fraudsters in the UK and beyond.

They have deployed an anti-piracy enforcement squad which has been handed heavy financial backing as it seeks to identify and bring to justice those who profit from selling firesticks - devices which allow punters to watch matches and swerve subscription fees to broadcast partners such as Sky and BT Sport.

Each matchday, operatives scour the internet for illegal streams. Then, in conjunction with external agencies, they attempt to follow the digital footprints of those responsible.

The ultimate aim, in what has been described as 'a fast-moving game of cat and mouse', is to formulate an 'intelligence package', which is then delivered to law enforcement agencies before they kick down doors.

The Premier League has armed itself with crack teams as it steps up its war on piracy

Experts estimated that around 4m sporting events were watched illegally in the UK last year

Five men, including 36-year-old Mark Gould (pictured as investigators search his south London home in May 2018), were jailed for up to 11 years each for distributing illegal streams

While experts estimate around 4million sporting events were watched illegally in the UK last year, the Premier League says its work has meant that consumption of matches has been in steady decline and is currently at 'lowest ever levels' on the back of its high-tech, wide-ranging clampdown.

Around 600,000 streams were blocked this season - which was almost double the figure from the 2019-20 campaign.

The competition is also targeting the Asia Pacific region, with operatives also working from an office in Singapore, which was opened in 2019.

The crackdown comes amid the sentencing of the ringleaders of a staggering criminal operation at a court in Chesterfield, for which Mail Sport was present.

There, five fraudsters were locked up after making millions from one of the UK's largest illicit streaming services. They sold TV sticks to more than 50,000.

Meanwhile, a Mail Sport report on Thursday reveals widespread use of the sticks throughout the country, including at a cricket club where the local EFL side are shown every time they are away from home.

It also details the story of a bus driver who funds a champagne lifestyle on the back of a side business selling the illegal sticks.

Bodycam footage also shows around 30 linked set-top boxes used for the illegal operation piled up in Gould's home

Fans using TV sticks to illegally stream Premier League games are unlikely to face prosecution

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