Police tackle global ‘elite’ paedo ring

Twelve people have been arrested in a global operation designed to crack down on an "elite" group of Net-based paedophiles.

The arrests were made earlier today as part of coordinated raids led by Interpol.

It claims those arrested were heavily involved in the production and distribution of child pornography.

The operation, codenamed ARTUS, followed the identification of a paedophile network by Germany's National Criminal Police Agency.

Law enforcement officers from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US took part in today's raids.

Two men in the UK - one from Bicester and the other from Kingston-upon-Thames - are currently being questioned by police.

According to the BBC the men worked in the computer industry and had computer equipment taken away from their homes.

Today's arrests were made by the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit. No one was available for comment at the time of writing. ®

Related Link

'Elite' paedophile ring uncovered - BBC