International child trafficking network dismantled

The European Police Agency, Europol, announced on Wednesday that a wide online paedophile network had been dismantled and 184 arrests made within one of the most important police operations that had ever been organised against such organised crime networks.

The Europol director, Rob Wainwright, underlined in a press conference held in The Hague 670 suspects had been identified out of which 184 had been arrested.

At the same time, 230 children victims of these ‘terrifying crimes’ have been identified in over 30 countries around the world.

‘I can confirm that this is one of the most successful police operations in recent years in what is probably the largest online paedophile network in the world’, said Rob Wainwright.

‘Discussion–only forum’ erased from the internet

The Romanian Police stated in a press release that the spectacular operational results were the work of effective police cooperation across many countries.

Known as Operation Rescue, this complex case has run for three years.

According to the Romanian Police, the website that has now been taken down operated as a ‘discussion–only’ forum where people could share their sexual interest in young boys without committing any specific offences, thus operating ‘below the radar’ of police attention.

Having made contact on the site, some members would move to more private channels, such as email, to exchange and share illegal images and films of children being abused.
Computers seized from those arrested have harvested huge quantities of child abuse images and videos.

Europol supported and coordinated the investigations for the last 1.5 years.
Law enforcement authorities have been brought together from 13 countries to track offenders on a truly global scale.

Countries involved: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

Some other countries, although not listed, still have investigations ongoing in which suspects have been identified.