Thai police arrest admin of nanamovies film piracy site in Ubon Ratchathani
At a glance
- Thailand's Economic Crime Suppression Division arrested the admin of the film piracy site nanamovies at a house in Ubon Ratchathani, under a court search warrant, after complaints from more than 10 film companies including Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Amazon and Apple.
- Police say the site had run since early 2016 and changed its domain extension several times to avoid checks.
- The admin admitted running the site and has been charged with copyright infringement for commercial purposes; police say they are looking for others involved.
Thai police announced on 30 October that officers from Sub-division 1 of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, part of the Central Investigation Bureau, had arrested the administrator of nanamovies, a website offering pirated films, at a house in Rai Noi subdistrict, Mueang Ubon Ratchathani district. They acted on a court search warrant, with officials from the Department of Intellectual Property and representatives of the film companies present. [1], [2], [3]
The case followed complaints from authorised representatives of more than 10 film companies, among them Cineplex Co., Columbia Pictures Industries, Paramount Pictures, Amazon Content Services and Apple Video Programming. Police say the site launched in early 2016 and changed its domain extension several times to avoid checks, and that investigators traced it through links to other piracy sites, its servers and money trails. They also say the admin built and ran at least two other sites for a percentage of the income. [1], [2], [3]
Officers seized a computer, phones, a notebook, a hard drive, an iPad, a monitor and bank books. The suspect, named only as Mr Thepphithak, admitted running the site and publishing the films without permission. He was charged under the Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (1994) with infringing copyright for commercial purposes by reproducing, adapting and communicating cinematographic works to the public, and handed to investigators. Police say they are pursuing others involved, and that the seized devices and documents will be examined forensically. The reports do not clearly give the date of the raid. [1], [2], [3], [4]
The site has been on the industry's radar for years: the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents US copyright industries, named Nanamovies.com among the piracy sites it flagged in Thailand in its 2021 Special 301 submission to the US government. [5]
Sources
- MGR Online. ปอศ.รวบ 'แอดมิน' เว็บหนังเถื่อน ลอบฉายภาพยนตร์ค่ายระดับโลกนานเกือบ 10 ปี (Economic crime police arrest admin of pirate film site that showed global studios' films for almost 10 years). Thai. Published 30 October 2026 (Bangkok time). Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Naewna. ปิดตำนานเว็บหนังเถื่อน ลักลอบเปิดเว็บ หนังออนไลน์นาน 10 ปี บุกค้นคาบ้านแอดมินเว็บไซต์ (Pirate film site that ran online for 10 years shut down; admin's home searched). Thai. Published 30 October 2026 (Bangkok time). Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Tnews. ไปอีกหนึ่ง ปิดตำนาน 10 ปีเว็บหนังเถื่อน nanamovies (Another one: 10-year pirate film site nanamovies shut down). Thai. Published 30 October 2026 (Bangkok time). Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Pattaya Mail. Thai police arrest operator of nearly decade-old illegal movie website. English. Published 1 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
- International Intellectual Property Alliance. 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement: Thailand. English. Published January 2021. Accessed 9 November 2026.
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