International team breaks paedophile ring in 19 countries

DETECTIVES IN three continents believe they have broken one of the most sophisticated paedophile rings yet. Eight British children between six and 14 years old have been rescued and arrests made in the UK, Australia and the US.

The ring used advanced techniques to avoid detection and one member boasted of belonging to the "greatest group of paedos ever to gather in one place".

Police traced the victims to addresses in the UK, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) Centre said. Some had been abused by their parents. The arrests followed a two-year inquiry which began in Australia, spread to Europe and was co-ordinated by the FBI in the US. The US was chosen as the base for police operations as most of the sex ring's members were American residents, police said.

A total of 22 people were arrested last week, including two men in the UK, in the final strike against the ring. Six further British men have been jailed for their roles in trading and receiving pictures and videos.

The newsgroup members gained access to the ring by providing pictures of child sexual abuse. One bragged: "All I can say is they are worth the download."

Paul Griffiths, who heads the victim identification team at Ceop, said: "It's important to remember too, though, that these children were not missing. They were located in the place where they were supposed to be safe - their own home - where their abuse was recorded and made available over the internet to satisfy sickening sexual desires of a deviant group of individuals."

Australian police said the international covert operation had uncovered 2,500 "customers" in 19 countries and 400,000 images of child abuse were seized.

© 2008 Guardian Service

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times