GENEVA: A total of 95 suspects have been arrested in an international operation targeting the online distribution of child sexual abuse material, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) said on Thursday, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
The four police operations, conducted between March and September, involved 17 countries across Latin America and Europe, including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and Italy. Investigators also executed 127 search warrants.
“Behind every file is a child who has been abused and is victimised again every time that image is shared,” said Interpol Executive Director of Police Support Services Stephen Fry.
“Wherever offenders go, we must move faster,” he added.
In Colombia, police rescued a five-year-old child and arrested a parent suspected of producing child sexual abuse material involving the child for online sale, Interpol said.
Using Interpol’s databases, investigators linked several files to the same child, including material recorded when the victim was as young as one year old.
In Ecuador, investigators examining a suspect linked to a chat group discovered more than 4,000 files of child sexual abuse material, totalling approximately 15 gigabytes.
Meanwhile, authorities in Panama arrested an administrator of a chat group used to distribute the material. The group had more than 700 users, according to Interpol.
In Argentina, police arrested a suspect accused of contacting more than 260 girls across several countries and sexually extorting minors.
The suspect allegedly demanded increasingly explicit videos and images from victims and threatened them if they refused to comply.
Interpol said offenders were increasingly exploiting digital platforms to sexually abuse children, coordinate abuse and profit from illegal material.
The organisation stressed the importance of international cooperation and coordinated investigations to identify victims, apprehend offenders and disrupt networks involved in child sexual exploitation.
-AWANI
