Posted on 07/02/2002 11:59:14 AM PDT by Liz
LONDON (AP) - Police in seven European countries struck Tuesday at a sophisticated child abuse and pornography ring dubbed "Shadowz Brotherhood," arresting 50 people and seizing computer equipment, CD-ROMs and videos, authorities said.
Police described the images created and distributed by the group as some of the most shocking they had ever seen. Members of the ring allegedly broadcast live pictures of abuse on the Internet and posted images of children, including babies, being sexually abused and tortured.
"In terms of the kind of material they are posting and allowing access to, it's the worst group I have encountered," said Detective Chief Supt. Len Hynds of Britain's National High-tech Crime Unit, which coordinated a yearlong investigation with the European police organization Europol.
"This group were using highly sophisticated technical means," he added. "It was a level of sophistication we have not seen in law enforcement before."
Arrests were made in Germany - where 31 suspects were apprehended - Belgium, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, Europol said.
British police said the ring was set up about two years ago and also had members in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Romania and Switzerland.
Hundreds of police officers swooped on suspects' homes in synchronized raids early Tuesday, seizing dozens of computers, videos and compact discs containing obscene images, the British crime unit said.
Police also contacted 62 Internet service providers, telling them to remove material related to the ring from 244 sites.
Hynds said the group had about 100 members, including 23 "systems administrators" who ran the ring's Web site and "monitored bulletin boards and chat rooms ensuring people were using proper security measures and excluded people from the site if they weren't."
Administrators also provided advice about police tactics and techniques so they could avoid detection, he added.
"The Shadowz Brotherhood believed they were beyond the law ... but this shows there is no hiding place for pedophiles," Hynds said.
Sixteen suspected members of the group were already in custody in Britain, Germany, the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada. British detectives also are conducting investigations in Japan and South Korea.
One suspect in the United States, an air force officer, has committed suicide while in custody, police said, without releasing his name.
Authorities say some members of the group sexually abused children and then posted the images on their Web site, which also provided advice on how to meet children in Internet chat rooms.
They used sophisticated encryption techniques, sometimes hiding material in seemingly innocent picture files, officials said.
Police said administrators operated a "star" system to rate members: after initial vetting, new members received a one-star rating, allowing them to view certain chat rooms, newsgroups and bulletin boards.
To gain further stars they had to post images of child sex abuse on the group's site; as they gained stars, they obtained greater access to restricted sites containing the most graphic material.
To further increase security, the group was structured in cells whose members knew only each other, police said.
AP-ES-07-02-02 1352EDT
Never noticed....not as apparent like, say, Waxman's nose. LOL. But Bwaney always did remind me of an overgrown adolescent.
Can't think of a single, fitting punishment that would fit this gross crime against children......
From the Dog meat hot among Korea and China's trendy young thread..
Dogs are usually strung up by their necks and beaten repeatedly to increase the flow of adrenaline in their flesh. Consumers believe the more pain the animals suffer, the more tender the meat becomes.
The dogs would struggle, howl, urinate and bleed till they become unconscious. Finally, they are chopped into pieces. All these are done in front of other dogs awaiting the same fate.
I can't think of a more fitting punishment than that. These subhumans deserve it much more than these innocent little pooches..
Why does liberalism always refer to sexual perversions as "love?"
They have no idea what love is, do they? They think it means sickly lusts.
They want laws to protect them, and laws that force us to "tolerate" it.
Sick ba$tards.
As to the scale of child porn, who knows? As our world becomes more and more evil I suspect that the demand for such hellish material will grow as well.
AND.....the head of the ring was called....THE BELGIAN. HMMMMMMM.....interesting.....
Later, I read the movie was based on true events.....CREEPY!!!
Ah. I saw enough of you on that other thread to gain some impression of your views.
Now, as for size, this is of course right. Now pay close attention - it's just for a moment and won't hurt a bit :)
I said "hi-revenue". I also said "every bit as difficult to control". Now, where the flyng f did I mention size? Are you deliberately slow, or is it a birth thing?
Or are you just another of those guys that gets all jittery when someone mentions "drugs" OR "child porn"?
Not often I agree with you, but you nailed it.
I saw a show on Mexico homosexual pedophillia. The blond haired, blue eyed boys were more expensive. American businessmen were often the clients down there.
Think about it. Where would Mexico get blonds with blue eyes?
How many kids, especially boys, are missing with these colors in the U.S.? Wasn't a blond haired, blue eyed boy just reported missing out west somewhere about a month ago? There was a thread on it. He went off on his bike, and never came home.
It's a wrong impression, apparently.
It's a fairly common mistake among liberals to jump to conclusions before they have any facts. I'm used to it.
You'll soon find out that fools aren't suffered gladly around here.
L
Since then, I stumbled upon quite a few pedophiles amongst these very people. One of them is a HUGE box office star. Sickening isn't it??????
And still you remain.
Now, kindly b*gger off to libertarian-land.
*plonk*
From the "Castilian" population. Not all Mexicans are Indian or mestizo. There is a sizeable minority of pure-blood Europeans.
Another example of this so-called "love" is that promoted by NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association).
What a demented bunch they are.
(Yes I mean you.)
L
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