ONE ARREST HAS been made in Ireland as part of a Europol operation to dismantle a child abuse photographer ring.
A total of 10 arrests were made, including five in the Czech Republic, one in France, one in Spain, and two in Sweden. Six houses were searched, with hundreds of DVDs and 30TB of data seized.
A statement from Europol explained that the ring originated in the Czech Republic and Sweden.
“The Czech target took advantage of socially and financially disadvantaged children by convincing them to pose for him – close to 70 children became victims,” the statement read.
The suspects then distributed these illegal child abuse images off- and on-line to customers abroad, who are thought to be part of a worldwide network.
“The Swedish suspect cooperated closely with the Czech target to distribute the illegal material in the EU and Canada.”
Following a joint investigation Europol along with police from the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Spain, a “coordinated action day” was held on 4 March, known as Operation Atelier.
Gardaí were unable to provide further information when contacted this morning.
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