Computers seized in paedophile ring raids

Computers have been seized during five searches in Ireland linked to an operation to smash a global paedophile ring, gardaí said today.

Officers carried out the raids in July and August as part of a worldwide investigation into online customers ordering tailor-made videos of child sex abuse.

“In each case computers were seized and are currently undergoing forensic examination,” said a Garda spokesman.

“As this matter is currently under investigation no further information can be divulged at this time.”

The searches are part of an international police effort – codenamed Operation Koala – to catch around 2,500 customers who paid for child sex abuse.

A 42-year-old Italian man – whose website sold over 150 self-made, sexually explicit videos of underage girls – has been arrested in Bologna, Europol confirmed.

One of the videos sold shows a father sexually abusing his daughters of nine and 11 years of age.

Customers were invited to request other children wear suggestive lingerie, which at times was bought by the customers themselves, for the films.

Paedophiles also asked for the children to pose in a certain way and even travelled to the Italian suspect’s studio in Ukraine to watch the video shoot or make their own.

Several people working in trusted positions, including school teachers and swimming instructors, are said to among those already arrested in the global investigation.

Max-Peter Ratzel, Europol’s Director, said 23 children aged between nine and 16 years of age have been identified in the massive probe ongoing since last year.

“This successful investigation has been extremely time-consuming, but the fact that the perpetrators behind these outrageous assaults towards children now are facing justice makes every hour used worth it,” he said.

Operation Koala was sparked last year after a child abuse video that had been produced in Belgium was discovered in Australia.

The video was tracked by Europol to the Italian man’s website which he has been running very profitably for the last year and a half.

Most of the material was produced in the suspect’s private studio in Ukraine where children were paid small amounts of money to pose in a sexually explicit way.

Italian police arrested the man just before he was about to permanently move to the Ukraine and forwarded all the material to Europol.

The European police agency identified the customers from the man’s records and passed the information to all the relevant national police forces.

46 people in the UK have been arrested over the past five months in connection with the same operation.

Mariano Simancas, Europol’s Deputy Director, told a press conference at The Hague the co-operation of European countries was key to the success of the investigation.

“The quality of the intelligence reports has been praised by the countries involved and has been considered crucial in relation to obtaining search warrants,” he said.