Hundreds arrested after police bust global pedophile network with 60,000 members

Hundreds arrested after police bust global pedophile network with 60,000 members

2011-03-15 18:24:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

THE HAGUE (BNO NEWS) -- Hundreds of people around the world have been arrested in what is believed to have been the world's largest online pedophile network, police said on Tuesday. The investigation spanned more than three years and involved scores of countries.

A Dutch police spokeswoman said a 37-year-old Dutch man was arrested in the town of Krommenie in November 2009 on suspicion of running the network, which involved more than 60,000 members worldwide. Few details about the network itself were immediately released, but hundreds of children are believed to have been rescued as a result of the international investigation which lasted more than three years.

The operation was led and coordinated by the the European Police Office (EUROPOL), which will release full details about the investigation during a press conference on Wednesday. Dutch police said hundreds of arrests have been made in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Australia and other nations.

The police spokeswoman did not say whether other arrests have been made in the Netherlands or what the main suspect has been charged with. She said the 37-year-old man is due to make a court appearance later on Tuesday.

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