Alex Trelinski
A DOZEN people, including four children, have been arrested in Spain for being part of a paedophile internet ring that shared child sex abuse videos and photos.
The illegal website was based in Portugal with authorities there arresting the administrator.
One of the most active members of the group to be arrested by the Policia Nacional was in the Barcelona area.
He shared 49 obscene videos and nine photographs of young girls being abused, while a Malaga user is said to have passed on 38 recordings.
Arrests were also carried in ?areas around ?Gerona, Sabadell, Caceres, Albacete, Cadiz, Castellon, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia.
Group members used instant messaging to distribute the illegal material which earned money for the site administrator.
Subscribers to the site could pay through virtual currencies to reduce the chances of detection.
A Policia Nacional spokesman said: “The ages of those arrested was of serious concern, with four of them being minors and seven aged in their twenties.”
“Mobile phones were the main way that this material was distributed allowing youngsters internet access without any parental supervision,” the spokesman continued.
The joint operation with Portuguese police and EUROPOL has also notified INTERPOL that two Columbian citizens were involved in distributing the obscene material.
