German paedophile network: Mountains of evidence seized
A thousand police officers in Germany raided the homes of 50 people as part of a nationwide crackdown on the online sharing and distribution of child pornography, Cologne police said Wednesday.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 01:38 | 02 September 2020
- Modified Date: 02:56 | 02 September 2020
Nationwide raids targeting a massive network for creating and sharing child pornography in Germany involved 1,000 police officers, who secured over 2,000 items as evidence, investigators said on Wednesday.
The evidence includes data storage devices and safes, Michael Esser, head of the investigation, said in Cologne one day after the operation took place.
He noted that analysing the findings would take some time.
Tuesday's raids targeted 48 men and two women, Esser said, adding that those suspects were not presumed of having abused children themselves.
None of those suspects have been placed under arrest, he said.
Searches were carried out in 12 of Germany's 16 federal states, with the southern region of Bavaria particularly in focus.
It was the largest operation conducted yet by Esser's investigative committee, dubbed "Berg" (Mountain).
The sprawling investigation is linked to a child pornography network that was uncovered in the western city of Bergisch Gladbach last year.
Investigators have previously said that over 30,000 people could be implicated in the criminal scheme.
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