MIAMI -- A South Florida man was arrested on Friday night because, police say, he was stealing cable and selling it to his customers.

Miami-Dade County police arrested 65-year-old Hector Martins on charges of selling re-programmed satellite receivers to provide free cable.

With the receivers, the customer would be able to pick up scrambled channels fed through the airwaves, police said.

The company targeted in the alleged piracy was the Dish Network. A representative of the company said that each box at Martins' home accounts for a $3,300 loss per year for Dish Network.

"Dish Network requested the Pica Corporation come out and attempt to determine whether this individual living here was, in fact, selling pirated signal equipment," said Richard Bergner of Pica Corporation.

According to police, Martins was profiting about $20,000 per year.

Neighbors told police that the house near Southwest 129th Place and 117th Street has had a large amount of traffic for many years.

Detectives said they think Martins may have had hundreds, possibly thousands, of customers over the past 10 years.

Resident Linda Kate said she was shocked to find out her neighbor was accused of providing scores of free channels to countless customers.

"I wouldn't expect somebody like that to live in a neighborhood like this one," Kate said. "These are good homes, and not a place that you would think somebody who lives next to you (would do this)."

After more than a year of investigating by the Miami-Dade Economic Crimes Bureau, Martins faced six felony counts.

Investigators said they have no plans to go after Martins' customers.

Police told NBC 6 that Martins will not face federal charges because they have no clear indication as to the exact number of customers provided with the service.