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.
Senate GOP sends warning to House SAVE Act agitators: Don’t tell us what to do
Donald Trump and Mark Carney: ‘Clash-mates’?
Republicans have a rare shot at winning the California governorship
DOJ sues 5 more states, demanding access to voter rolls: ‘We will not be deterred’
MLB Star Blasts Newsom for Implying Black People Are ‘Stupid’ and Can’t Read: ‘I Was a Straight A Student’
Corporate America is on the move, and these red states are cashing in
FAA restricts Texas airspace after Pentagon reportedly strikes down Customs and Border Protection drone
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
Child predator cleared for parole arrested after surprise warrant drops hours before prison release
Trump pushes Congress to pass SAVE Act during State of the Union: ‘So we’ll see how it goes’
BREAKING VIDEO: Minnesota Lawmakers Have Drawn up Impeachment Articles Against Tim Walz and Keith Ellison
Alleged Tren de Aragua criminal gang members charged in ATM robberies across New England
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
Vulnerable House Dem lashes out at Trump’s ‘racist’ SOTU challenge: ‘That was uncomfortable’
Mamdani’s Stylist Mocked After Leaving First-Class Plane Seat to Avoid Sitting with White People: ‘Just Like Rosa Parks’
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.
Senate GOP sends warning to House SAVE Act agitators: Don’t tell us what to do
Donald Trump and Mark Carney: ‘Clash-mates’?
Republicans have a rare shot at winning the California governorship
DOJ sues 5 more states, demanding access to voter rolls: ‘We will not be deterred’
MLB Star Blasts Newsom for Implying Black People Are ‘Stupid’ and Can’t Read: ‘I Was a Straight A Student’
Corporate America is on the move, and these red states are cashing in
FAA restricts Texas airspace after Pentagon reportedly strikes down Customs and Border Protection drone
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
Child predator cleared for parole arrested after surprise warrant drops hours before prison release
Trump pushes Congress to pass SAVE Act during State of the Union: ‘So we’ll see how it goes’
BREAKING VIDEO: Minnesota Lawmakers Have Drawn up Impeachment Articles Against Tim Walz and Keith Ellison
Alleged Tren de Aragua criminal gang members charged in ATM robberies across New England
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
Vulnerable House Dem lashes out at Trump’s ‘racist’ SOTU challenge: ‘That was uncomfortable’
Mamdani’s Stylist Mocked After Leaving First-Class Plane Seat to Avoid Sitting with White People: ‘Just Like Rosa Parks’
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.
