28 arrested in international operation against child sexual abuse material coordinated by Norway
Norwegian police have arrested 28 men in seven countries in an international operation targeting purchasers of child sexual abuse material on the dark web, paid for using the cryptocurrency Monero.
28 arrested in international operation against child sexual abuse material coordinated by Norway
Norwegian authorities announced Wednesday that 28 men in seven countries have been arrested in an international action against individuals who purchased material depicting child sexual abuse.
The men, aged 22 to 54, were taken into custody in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Czech Republic, Poland and Germany in early June. The National Criminal Investigation Service, Kripos, coordinated the operation alongside police from six partner countries.
Investigators reported that the suspects used the cryptocurrency Monero to pay for access to multiple forums on the dark web containing the illegal content. Kripos has developed a method to trace the use of this digital currency in specific investigations.
Further arrests are expected, potentially in multiple countries, as authorities report that there are still many suspects under investigation.
Europol separately reported that one of the arrested individuals had extensively used artificial intelligence to produce illegal material. The European police agency also stated that some of the victims belonged to another suspect's close family. Three children were secured as a result of the operation.
Police seized over 460 items during the operations, including electronic devices, cryptocurrency wallets, narcotics and large quantities of doping agents.
Source: CTV News
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)