Fifty children have been rescued and nine people arrested after an Interpol investigation into an international paedophile ring.
The arrests were made in Thailand, Australia and the US and more are expected, Interpol said.
The investigation began in 2017 and focused on a hidden “dark web” site with 63,000 users worldwide.
Police believe 100 more children have suffered abuse and are working to identify them.
Operation Blackwrist was launched by Interpol after it detected images showing 11 boys aged under 13 being abused on a site where people can use encrypted software to maintain secrecy.
National Guard in Minnesota hands out coffee, donuts to anti-ICE protesters
Airplane crashes at Maine airport with 8 on board, FAA says
Records: Anti-DEI Republican Helped Install Ideology at Texas Health Center
Dan Bongino Explains to ‘Full-Diaper Media Morons’ Difference Between Being Podcaster And FBI Deputy Director
World Health Organization says US withdrawal makes the nation and the world ‘less safe’
Grieving families of DC midair collision say more needs to be done to fix safety concerns one year after tragedy
Anti-ICE agitators clash with federal agents at Minneapolis hotel, as agents deploy tear gas, flashbangs
JD Vance shares ‘crazy’ story of ICE and CBP officers being mobbed in Minneapolis
Federal immigration officials privately fume over DHS claims after deadly Minnesota shooting
Trump confirms federal review of Minneapolis shooting that killed nurse: ‘Reviewing everything’
The far-left network that helped put Alex Pretti in harm’s way, then made him a martyr
Bill Clinton says Trump admin ‘told us not to believe what we’ve seen’ after latest Minnesota shooting
Video shows masked robbers crash car through jewelry store entrance, steal owner’s gun in brazen heist
Barack and Michelle Obama slam ICE after Minneapolis shooting, urge accountability
Tim Walz compares Minnesota ICE actions to Holocaust and Anne Frank: ‘Hiding in their houses’
The dark net is an internet area beyond the reach of mainstream search engines.
The US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) department traced the IP address of the website, which was hosting photos and videos of abuse.
Police say the abusers uploaded new images on a weekly basis and often masked the children’s faces to make it harder for investigators to identify them.
The first arrests came last year, when the site’s main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand, and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was caught in Australia.
National Guard in Minnesota hands out coffee, donuts to anti-ICE protesters
Airplane crashes at Maine airport with 8 on board, FAA says
Records: Anti-DEI Republican Helped Install Ideology at Texas Health Center
Dan Bongino Explains to ‘Full-Diaper Media Morons’ Difference Between Being Podcaster And FBI Deputy Director
World Health Organization says US withdrawal makes the nation and the world ‘less safe’
Grieving families of DC midair collision say more needs to be done to fix safety concerns one year after tragedy
Anti-ICE agitators clash with federal agents at Minneapolis hotel, as agents deploy tear gas, flashbangs
JD Vance shares ‘crazy’ story of ICE and CBP officers being mobbed in Minneapolis
Federal immigration officials privately fume over DHS claims after deadly Minnesota shooting
Trump confirms federal review of Minneapolis shooting that killed nurse: ‘Reviewing everything’
The far-left network that helped put Alex Pretti in harm’s way, then made him a martyr
Bill Clinton says Trump admin ‘told us not to believe what we’ve seen’ after latest Minnesota shooting
Video shows masked robbers crash car through jewelry store entrance, steal owner’s gun in brazen heist
Barack and Michelle Obama slam ICE after Minneapolis shooting, urge accountability
Tim Walz compares Minnesota ICE actions to Holocaust and Anne Frank: ‘Hiding in their houses’
Salangam, who abused one of his nephews, was sentenced to 146 years in prison in Thailand, while an accomplice, a pre-school teacher, got 36 years.
Tokputza was sentenced to 40 years on Friday after pleading guilty to 51 charges against 11 babies and boys, the heaviest sentence ever handed down in Australia for child sex offences.
Police found thousands of images taken in both Thailand and Australia on his devices. In some of them Tokputza was the main abuser. The youngest victim to be identified was 15 months old.
“You are a child’s worst nightmare, you are every parent’s horror, you are a menace to the community,” Judge Liesl Chapman said in Adelaide.
The identities of the others arrested are yet to be released, but some are residing in the US and held public positions of trust, said Eric McLoughlin, the HSI’s regional attache in Bangkok.
Story cited here.
