‘Dodgy stick’ users should expect ‘knock and talk’ visits soon as police roll out new detection method

A former police detective made the claim.

According to Rav Wilding, who presented the update on the BBC programme, police are no longer simply working to crack down on sellers of the items, but are now using information from the sellers they've already tracked down — and in some cases prosecuted — to access account information, that could help them locate suspected customers’ details.

Once they've accessed their details, the police could then track down and contact any of the supposed four million people across the UK thought to be making use of a Firestick for streaming purposes.

On the programme, Wilding said: "All of them are using them illegally. They’re going for the distributors. They’re going for the sellers. They are having a lot of success.

“But actually, once they’ve got the seller, they’re going through their accounts. They’re seeing who has been paying money for these illegal things.

“And if they’ve been paying them for these sticks, then people should possibly expect a conversation or two, if police want to know why they’ve been paying them money for this.”

The new police detection method can involve investigators examining bank statements to identify suspected users who have purchased Fire Sticks.