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CRIME

Spanish Police arrest 56 in raid targeting online child pornography

The individuals, detained in 28 provinces, allegedly shared material depicting sexual abuse of children

An officer seizing computer material.
An officer seizing computer material.EFE

Spanish National Police have arrested 56 people for distributing child pornography online, including images of sexual abuse against very young children.

The operation took place in a raid carried out simultaneously across Spain, with arrests made in 28 provinces. Three more individuals are under investigation but have not been held.

The arrests are the result of a year-and-a-half long investigation, and represent the biggest crackdown on the distribution of child pornography in 2016.

Most of the detainees are 40 to 60 years old, police sources said.

Over 150 officers and 46 courts participated in the coordinated raid

Police officers raided 39 homes and seized computers and over 173 hard drives, as well as 614 CDs and DVDs containing several gigabytes of deeply disturbing photographs and videos, including babies being tortured.

Police also seized two revolvers during the search of one home in Murcia.

Over 150 officers and 46 investigating courts participated in the coordinated raid against pedophilia.

Authorities said that the suspects shared the child pornography through peer-to-peer (P2P) file exchange systems.

“In the last year, of 750 suspects arrested for cybercrimes in Spain, 390 were related to the sexual exploitation of minors,” said Luis García Pascual, Chief Inspector of the division for the protection of minors of the National Police’s Technology Intelligence Unit.

English version by Susana Urra.

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