GENEVA, Oct 16 (Bernama-dpa) -- Police arrested 95 suspects in an international operation targeting the online distribution of child sexual abuse material, the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) said in a statement on Thursday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Four police operations conducted between March and September involved 17 countries in Latin America and Europe, including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and Italy. Investigators executed 127 search warrants.
“Behind every file is a child who was abused, and who is revictimised every time that image recirculates,” said Stephen Fry, Interpol’s executive director for investigative support.
“Wherever offenders move, we have to move faster.”
In Colombia, police rescued a five-year-old child and arrested a parent suspected of producing sexual abuse material involving the child and selling it online, according to Interpol.
Using an Interpol database, investigators linked several files to the same child, some dating back to when the child was just one year old.
In Ecuador, investigators examining a suspect linked to a chat group found more than 4,000 files of child sexual abuse material, totalling about 15 gigabytes.
In Panama, police arrested the administrator of a chat group used to distribute such material. The group had more than 700 users, according to Interpol.
In Argentina, police arrested a suspect accused of contacting more than 260 girls in various countries and sexually extorting minors.
He allegedly demanded increasingly explicit videos and images from the victims and threatened them if they refused.
Interpol said perpetrators were increasingly using digital platforms to sexually exploit children, coordinate abuse and profit from illegal content.
-- BERNAMA-dpa