Aus police bust child porn ring

2007-12-16 08:03

Sydney - Australian police on Sunday said they had broken up an alleged nationwide child porn ring with the arrest of six men overnight, including a former policeman, a trainee teacher and a swimming instructor.

The operation came after 11 months of surveillance following a tip-off, New South Wales Child Protection and Sex Crimes Squad Commander Helen Begg said.

The six men arrested were charged with a variety of offences including disseminating and producing child pornography.

"The offenders that were arrested came from all walks of life including those in positions of trust," she told reporters in Sydney.

Among those arrested were a former police officer, a trainee teacher and a swimming teacher as well as a truck driver, she said.

The raid allegedly involved the seizure of computers and equipment containing "thousands of images" of child porn.

Begg said police were "not aware of any contact offences that have occurred during the course of the operation" and believed most of the pornography was produced overseas.

Commander Kevin Zuccato, from the Australian Federal Police, said the investigation would likely lead to further arrests overseas and warned offenders could be traced despite the anonymity of the internet.

"We've demonstrated over the last couple of days that we can gain their trust, we can infiltrate their networks, and we can take them down," he said.

"So the message from us, quite clearly, is if you think you're anonymous on the internet, think again, because the people you may be talking to may very well be the police."

- AFP