Spanish police detain 57 in online paedophilia raids
A major online child pornography ring was intercepted by Spanish police Friday after raids that led to the detention of 57 suspects, including local police and business chiefs.
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Police launched 97 raids across Spain after analysing more than 20,000 Internet connections, the national police said.
Officers arrested 57 people and charged another 47 over the possession and distribution of child pornography, they said.
"Among those arrested was a producer of pornographic material who had filmed two relatives aged seven and 14 in sexual situations," the police said in a statement.
Those detained ranged from local police officers to business chiefs, students, information technology engineers and the unemployed.
The operation was co-ordinated by more than 400 officers from 36 police forces and 70 police courts. They seized hundreds of hard disks, computer chips, DVDs and CDs.
The Spanish police said they tracked the activity using a sophisticated new software tool, NordicMule, developed by Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service.
Spain has stepped up its fight against online child pornography, arresting about 1,200 people in the past five years.
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