Two British men arrested in Thai child abuse investigation

Two British men were arrested in Thailand today as part of a child abuse investigation.

A 67-year-old German man and a 62-year-old American were also arrested in the tourist resort of Pattaya following a joint operation between the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and the Royal Thai Police.

The British men, aged 59 and 45, were arrested at different locations in the Thai coastal resort between 6am and 7am today and are being held for questioning.

The arrests were made as part of operation Naga, which began earlier this year after the CEOP identified an online network of suspected child abusers.

CEOP chief executive Jim Gamble said: “This is a huge breakthrough from a child protection perspective.

“People for too long have believed that sex offenders from the UK who travel to foreign jurisdictions to offend don’t represent the same level of threat as at home. The truth is that of course they do.

“Such individuals are sufficiently deviant and dangerous that they target areas where they believe that children are all the more vulnerable perhaps because of the social and economic conditions.”

“This operation has led by the Royal Thai Police demonstrates that at home or abroad, online or off-line, if you represent a threat to children, we will follow you and ensure you are properly held to account.”

Pattaya is a popular beach resort about an hour from the Thai capital Bangkok.

Child abuse links were discovered between the UK and Thailand earlier this year, prompting the initiation of a joint operation with the Royal Thai Police and CEOP.

The centre’s deputy head of operations, Andy Wells, added: “Working with the Royal Thai Police we have located and identified a number of individuals who are suspected of serious alleged offences against vulnerable children.

“Non-government organisations have been instrumental in helping to build an intelligence picture of the threat that travelling sex offenders pose to children from in the region.”