12 000 probed in child porn bust
2007-12-24 20:49
Halle - German prosecutors are investigating 12 000 suspects in a child pornography network, the largest ever found in Germany, the head of a special unit said on German radio Monday.
The investigation is also focusing on suspects in 70 other countries, Peter Vogt, head of the central office tackling child pornography and also a prosecutor in Halle in eastern Germany, told Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR).
About 300 suspects in Saxe-Anhalt - the region where Halle is located - allegedly "downloaded or possess child pornography material", he said.
A Berlin supplier of internet services who discovered an enormous exchange of data alerted investigators, according to Vogt.
"The material was analysed. Then we called for search warrants," he added, in the investigation dubbed "Himmel" (heaven).
According to newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, prosecutors have been investigating this child pornography ring over the past several months.
- AFP