Posted on 07/02/2002 10:16:02 AM PDT by kattracks
July 2— THE HAGUE (Reuters) - European police swooped on a suspected Internet child pornography ring with raids in seven countries on Tuesday, the European Union's police agency Europol said.
Police seized suspects, computers, CDs and videos in raids in Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
British police said "Operation Twins" targeted suspected members of the world's most technically-sophisticated Internet child porn network yet detected. They used complex technology to try to avoid detection.
The gang's alleged activities included the production and distribution of child pornography and abuse of children. Abuse was filmed and broadcast in "real time" over the Internet, police said.
The crackdown on 50 suspected members of the gang centered on Germany, where police searched the homes and offices of 31 people. The suspected porn-ring operated Internet bulletin boards out of Germany, police said.
The operation, led by Britain's National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), set up last year to tackle cyber-crime, has found that pedophiles trawling the Internet are using increasingly sophisticated computer security systems to hide their abuse.
"Operation Twins has exposed the complex, sophisticated and organized hierarchical structure that online pedophile groups are now using to protect themselves, including their identities and the atrocious activities they are involved in," NHTCU chief Len Hynds said.
The gang was "a group of pedophiles who exchanged photos and videos of violence committed against their own sons and daughters and other children," Italian police said.
Belgian and Dutch police raided homes and businesses in several major cities including Brussels and The Hague. In Britain police pounced in London and other locations, arresting six suspects around dawn.
"The data reviewed during the investigation numbered hundreds and thousands of images, thousands of videos depicting hundreds of child victims, most of whom remain unidentified," Europol, which is based in The Hague, said.
The investigation started in Sweden more than a year ago but rapidly broadened to other countries. Swedish police said they had taken one man into custody and were examining his computer.
"The problem of pedophiles on the Internet is getting worse but it's now easier for us to see them at work than before. We will not give up the battle," Swedish police said.
Europol coordinated the operation involving 12 countries, including Canada, the United States and Switzerland.
Copyright 2002 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved.
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