Spanish police have busted what they say is the largest Spanish-language manga crime platform, which has been operating since 2014 and serves millions of monthly users around the world.
Manga is the Japanese term for comics and graphic novels, usually referring to those created in Japan and widely read around the world.
The manga hacking platform, which was not identified in the police announcement, provides free access to copyrighted works and makes ad revenue from the web traffic it receives.
According to the authorities, who launched an investigation in June 2025, the platform generated more than $4,700,000 in advertising revenue by using aggressive hackers. Much of the advertising was pornographic, which raises concerns as most of the site’s visitors are children.
These pop-ups are shown to users for every action they take on the site, including selecting content, reading descriptions, or browsing catalogs, to maximize advertising impressions.
TorrentFreak recently reported that Spanish-language manga platform Tu Manga Online (TMO) has been taken offline following legal pressure, including actions by Korean intellectual property rights holders.
The description of the speaker and the timelines provided in the announcement by the Spanish police from earlier today are similar to the specific platform, although the TMO was not explicitly named.
“Since 2014, it has systematically provided free and unauthorized access to many works protected by intellectual property rights,” explained the police announcement.
“The site has also established itself as the main reference point for manga piracy in Spanish, with billions of monthly visits and significant international reach, causing great harm to rights holders, publishers, translators, and the culture industry as a whole.”
As part of the law enforcement operation, police raided the suspect’s home in Almeria, Spain, and found what they described as a “sophisticated technical setup” that supports the platform’s operations.
The suspect was also found in the middle of creating a second website, which could have been sold at work or set up a pirate site in case of disruption, although the raid prevented its launch.
Police seized two USB devices hidden inside a wall thermometer, which contained “cold” cryptocurrency wallets holding more than $470,000 in digital assets.
Source: Policia Nacional
The police also arrested three others in the same enforcement action, but there were not many details about the role of these people.
Spanish authorities have noted that the work has had a major international impact, highlighting the significant financial and reputational damage to publishers and the wider cultural industry.
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