A two-year international operation involving police from Australia, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Thailand and the US and coordinated by Interpol has led to the arrest of nine alleged child sex offenders in Thailand, the US and Australia.

The investigation — called Operation Blackwrist — was launched in 2017 after police found material showing the abuse of 11 boys, all below the age of 13, by an online international pedophilia ring operating on the dark web on a subscription basis.

Dark web sites cannot be found via search engines, and access requires typing in the specific URL address.

Police said 50 children were rescued, with around 100 more suspected of having suffered abuse. Police are working to identify the victims.

"Operation Blackwrist sends a clear message to those abusing children, producing child sexual exploitation material and sharing the images online: We see you, and you will be brought to justice," Interpol Secretary-General Jürgen Stock said in a statement.

Interpol stressed that international cooperation in fighting child sexual abuse was key as pedophilia networks tended to be "transnational."

In early 2018, police made the first arrests, capturing the site's main administrator, Montri Salangam in Thailand. He was seen abusing the 11 boys, one of whom was his nephew. Another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was detained in Australia.

In June that year, Salangam was sentenced to 146 years in prison for child rape, human trafficking as well as possession and distribution of child sex abuse material by a Thai court. Tokputza was sentenced to 40 years in prison in Australia. </s> A child sex abuse site on the Dark Web has been busted in an international operation led by Interpol.

Dubbed Operation Blackwrist, named after a bracelet worn by one of the offenders, the two-year operation led to the arrest and prosecution of nine offenders in Australia, Thailand and the US.

In a media release yesterday, Interpol said the operation was launched in 2017 following the discovery of material depicting the abuse of 11 boys, all under 13 years old.

The material was from a website with about 63,000 subscribers worldwide.

For years, the site published new material weekly, with great care taken to avoid detection by masking the children.

Investigators from Thailand, the United States, Bulgaria, New Zealand and Australia worked on the case together, identifying the victims and offenders. Then in January last year, the authorities swooped in.

They conducted simultaneous arrests of the site's administrators in Australia and Thailand.

The main administrator, Montri Salangam, was based in Thailand.

He was the man seen abusing the 11 boys, including his own nephew.

Interpol said the children were lured to his home with meals, Internet access and football games.

A second administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was based in Australia.

Police found thousands of images taken in both Thailand and Australia on his devices.

The youngest of his victims was just 15 months old.

Investigations stemming from the arrests of the two led to further arrests in Australia, Thailand and the United States.

The authorities were able to remove 50 victims from harm, but believe there are at least 100 more unidentified children who were also abused.

Last year, the Thai courts jailed Salangam for 146 years.

Another offender, an unnamed nursery school teacher who was arrested during the operation, was jailed 36 years.

Last week, Tokputza was jailed 40 years and three months in Australia, making it the longest sentence handed out by the country for child sex offences.

Further arrests and rescues are expected in the next few years, as the authorities in 60 countries are now examining the evidence which has been shared through the Interpol International Child Sexual Exploitation database.

Interpol secretary General Jürgen Stock said he welcomed the successful prosecutions and lauded the co-operation between the law enforcement agencies of the different countries.

"Every child abuse image is evidence of a crime and Interpol will always provide its full support to officers on the ground to help identify and rescue victims around the world," he said.

"Operation Blackwrist sends a clear message to those abusing children, producing child sexual exploitation material and sharing the images online: We see you, and you will be brought to justice." </s> International police group Interpol said Thursday that nine people had been arrested in Thailand, Australia and the U.S. and 50 children had been rescued after investigators took down an online pedophilia ring.

More arrests were expected as police in nearly 60 countries pursue investigations stemming from an Interpol operation launched two years ago into a hidden "dark web" site with 63,000 users worldwide.

Fifty children were rescued following the arrests. Police are trying to identify an additional 100 in images that had been shared on the internet's uncharted corners.

Interpol said its Operation Blackwrist began after it found material that was traced back to a subscription-based site on the dark web, where people can use encrypted software to hide behind layers of secrecy.

Dark web sites can't be found through search engines, and users need to have the specific URL address to land on a site.

Interpol enlisted help from national agencies worldwide, with the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) department eventually tracking the site's IP address, where new photos and videos were posted weekly.

The first arrests came in early 2018, when the site's main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand, and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was captured in Australia.

Salangam, whose victims included one of his nephews, was sentenced in June last year to 146 years in prison by Thai courts, while an associate, a pre-school teacher, got 36 years.

Tokputza was handed a 40-year prison term at his trial in Australia last Friday, the longest ever for child sex offences in the country.

The Australian Associated Press reported that Tokputza, 31, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of abuse of 11 babies and children -- one just 15 months old -- between 2011 and 2018.

"You are a child's worst nightmare, you are every parent's horror, you are a menace to the community," Judge Liesl Chapman said in Adelaide.

Interpol did not identify the others arrested.

The HSI's regional attache in Bangkok, Eric McLoughlin, said in the statement that "numerous arrests" had been made in the U.S. Some held "positions of public trust," he said, and one individual was abusing his two-year-old stepbrother.

"Operation Blackwrist sends a clear message to those abusing children, producing child sexual exploitation material and sharing the images online: We see you, and you will be brought to justice," Interpol's Secretary General Juergen Stock said. </s> International police group Interpol said yesterday that nine people had been arrested in Thailand, Australia and the United States and 50 children had been rescued after investigators took down an online pedophilia ring.

More arrests were expected as police in nearly 60 countries pursue investigations stemming from an Interpol operation launched two years ago into a hidden dark-web site with 63,000 users worldwide.

Fifty children were rescued following the arrests. Police are trying to identify an additional 100 in images that had been shared on the internet.

Interpol said its Operation Blackwrist began after it found material that was traced back to a subscription-based site on the dark web, where people can use encrypted software to hide behind layers of secrecy.

Dark-web sites can’t be found through search engines and users need to have the specific URL address to land on a site.

Interpol enlisted help from national agencies worldwide, with the US Homeland Security Investigations department eventually tracking the site’s IP address, where new photos and videos were posted weekly.

The first arrests came in early 2018, when the site’s main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was captured in Australia. Salangam was sentenced in June last year to 146 years in prison by Thai courts, while an associate, a preschool teacher, got 36 years. Tokputza was handed a 40-year jail term at his trial in Australia last Friday. </s> A Thursday press release from Interpol announced their "Operation Blackwrist" had reached new levels as a total 50 children, the youngest being only 15 months old, were rescued from dark web pedophilia ring. In addition, at least nine sex offenders have been either sentenced or await trial for their alleged child sex and exploitation crimes.

Operation Blackwrist began in 2017 after Interpol's Crimes Against Children unit was alerted to sexual material involving the abuse of 11 boys, all aged under 13, during "routine darkweb monitoring," according to the release. Interpol says the content was made accessible to at least 63,000 users across the globe through a subscription-based darkweb site that had been running for some years.

The site, which published new images and videos of sexual abuse against young children, is said to have taken precaution in not revealing any audio or visual clues as to where the content originated.

In order to carry out the operation, named after a wristband consistently worn by an offender, Interpol relied on cooperation from agencies such as Thailand's Department of Special Investigations (DSI), the US' Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The first arrests came about in January 2018 after Interpol successfully identified the first victims two months prior.

Montri Salangam, the darkweb site's main administrator, was arrested in Thailand and identified as the man abusing the 11 boys in the videos which sparked the launch of Operation Blackwrist. Interpol says Salangam lured boys, including his own nephew, to his home with promises of "meals, internet access and football games."

Simultaneously, Ruecha Tokputza, another site admin, was apprehended in Australia.

Upon both arrests, officers also uncovered thousands of images featuring both administrators as primary abusers. South Australian court proceedings would later reveal the duo's youngest victim was only 15 months old.

In June 2018, Salangam was sentenced to 146 years in prison on charges of child rape, human trafficking and possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials, according to Channel News Asia. The sentence would later be reduced to 50 years, but Salangam is also required to pay five victims 500,000 baht ($15,600).

An accomplice, identified as a nursery school teacher with close ties to Tokputza, received 36 years in prison from a Thai court after being convicted of the same charges as Salangam.

The Interpol release says an Australian court gave Tokputza "the longest sentence ever imposed in Australia for child sex offences" on May 17 2019: 40 years and three months.

"You are a child's worst nightmare, you are every parent's horror, you are a menace to the community," Judge Liesl Chapman told Tokputza in Adelaide.

Though the release provides no further details on who was arrested, Interpol has made it clear that several other alleged offenders have been captured in the United States, Thailand and Australia as a result of ongoing investigations.

Additionally, Interpol says police in "nearly 60 countries" are currently examining referrals from New Zealand and expect more offenders and rapists to be brought to justice.

"Every child abuse image is evidence of a crime and INTERPOL will always provide its full support to officers on the ground to help identify and rescue victims around the world," Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock noted in the release. </s> The alleged primary administrator of a "dark web" site at the heart of an international online pedophilia ring, Montri Salangam (center), is seen in police custody in Thailand following his arrest early in 2018. Interpol/Handout

International police group Interpol said Thursday that nine people had been arrested in Thailand, Australia and the U.S. and 50 children had been rescued after investigators took down an online pedophilia ring. More arrests were expected as police in nearly 60 countries pursue investigations stemming from an Interpol operation launched two years ago into a hidden "dark web" site with 63,000 users worldwide.

Fifty children were rescued following the arrests. Police are trying to identify an additional 100 in images that had been shared on the internet's uncharted corners.

Interpol said its Operation Blackwrist began after it found material that was traced back to a subscription-based site on the dark web, where people can use encrypted software to hide behind layers of secrecy.

Dark web sites can't be found through search engines, and users need to have the specific URL address to land on a site.

Study: Large portion of darknet in use by child predators

Interpol enlisted help from national agencies worldwide, with the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) department eventually tracking the site's IP address, where new photos and videos were posted weekly.

The first arrests came in early 2018, when the site's main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand, and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was captured in Australia.

Salangam, whose victims included one of his nephews, was sentenced in June last year to 146 years in prison by Thai courts.

Interpol said children were lured to Salangam's home with the promise of food, internet access and soccer games.

Shedding light on the dark web

One of his associates, a pre-school teacher, got 36 years.

Tokputza was handed a 40-year prison term at his trial in Australia last Friday, the longest ever for child sex offences in the country.

The Australian Associated Press reported that Tokputza, 31, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of abuse of 11 babies and children -- one just 15 months old -- between 2011 and 2018.

"You are a child's worst nightmare, you are every parent's horror, you are a menace to the community," Judge Liesl Chapman said in Adelaide.

Forensic investigators gather evidence from the home of Montri Salangam, the accused administrator of a "dark web" site at the center of an alleged online pedophilia ring, who was arrested in Thailand in early 2018. Interpol/Handout

Interpol did not identify the others arrested.

The HSI's regional attache in Bangkok, Eric McLoughlin, said in the statement that "numerous arrests" had been made in the US. Some held "positions of public trust," he said, and one individual was abusing his two-year-old stepbrother.

"Operation Blackwrist sends a clear message to those abusing children, producing child sexual exploitation material and sharing the images online: We see you, and you will be brought to justice," Interpol's Secretary General Juergen Stock said. </s> Bulgaria’s Cybercrime Department at the General Directorate Combating Organised Crime, supported by Europol, took down the servers of a website as part of an international operation against a child sex abuse ring, Interpol said on May 23.

The two-year international operation co-ordinated by Interpol has led to the rescue of 50 children, as well as the arrest and prosecution of child sex offenders in Thailand, Australia and the United States.

Operation Blackwrist, named after a bracelet worn by one of the offenders, was launched by Interpol in 2017 following the discovery of material depicting the abuse of 11 boys, all under 13 years old.

For years, the site had published new images weekly, with the abuser taking great care to avoid detection, often masking the children and leaving very few visual or audio clues, Interpol said.

Officers relied on the physical traits of the children to track their ongoing abuse, and reached out to the global police community for help.

In June 2017, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) took on the case, working in close collaboration with Interpol’s Liaison Bureau in Bangkok.

Investigators around the world also joined the effort to identify the 11 boys and find site administrators. The US’ Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified the website IP address and worked on establishing potential links to the US.

Bulgaria’s Cybercrime Department at the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime, supported by Europol, took down the website’s servers.

The Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand deconflicted intelligence and compiled information packages on website users for Interpol member countries.

The US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children cross-checked e-mail addresses and provided additional intelligence.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and South Australian Police came on board when an IP address pointed to a location in Adelaide.

The website and its administrators sparked a series of investigations around the world, leading to further arrests in Thailand, Australia and the United States.

As police in nearly 60 countries examine referrals compiled by New Zealand, more arrests and rescues are expected, Interpol said.

Although police have removed 50 victims from harm, they believe an additional 100 more children have suffered abuse, and are currently working to identify those victims, the statement said. </s> (CNN) — Interpol has saved 50 children and prosecuted nine sex offenders after uncovering an international pedophile ring that was sharing child abuse images on the dark web.

Police believe there are still 100 children who have not yet been located, Interpol said in a press release Thursday, adding that it expected to make more arrests and rescues.

Offenders have already been prosecuted in Thailand, Australia and the United States, Interpol said, and police in nearly 60 countries are involved in the investigation.

In the report, Interpol said it launched “Operation Blackwrist” in 2017 after discovering material depicting the abuse of 11 boys all aged under 13 on the dark web, a part of the internet that cannot be found by mainstream search engines. The images were on a subscription-based website that published new images weekly to almost 63,000 users worldwide.

In June 2017, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) took on the case, working closely with Interpol’s Liaison Bureau in Bangkok and investigators around the world including in the United States, Bulgaria, New Zealand and Australia.

The first victims were identified in November that same year, leading to arrests in Thailand and Australia two months later.

In June 2018, the website’s main administrator, Thailand-based Montri Salangam, was sentenced to 146 years in prison on charges of child rape and human trafficking. He had abused 11 boys — including his nephew — and had lured children to his home with meals, internet access and football games.

A nursery school teacher who was close to Tokputza was sentenced to 36 years in prison on the same charges.

In May 2019, Ruecha Tokputza, an Australia-based website administrator, received 40 years and three months in prison, the longest sentence ever imposed in the country for child sex offenses. Police found thousands of images taken in Thailand and Australia on his devices, some of which featured Tokputza as the main abuser. The youngest victim depicted was only 15 months old.

The judge in that case referred to Tokputa as “every child’s worst nightmare” and “every parent’s horror.”

Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said the investigation sent a clear message to those abusing children or sharing child sexual exploitation material: “We see you, and you will be brought to justice.”

“Every child abuse image is evidence of a crime,” he said. </s> BANGKOK: Fifty children abused by sex offenders operating a website from locations including Thailand and Australia have been removed from harm as part of an international operation coordinated by Interpol.

Named Operation Blackwrist after a bracelet worn by one of the sexual predators, the international investigation began when Interpol’s Crimes Against Children unit discovered photographs and videos showing the abuse of 11 boys on the dark web two years ago. All of them were under 13 years old.

According to Interpol, the materials originated from a subscription-based website with nearly 63,000 users worldwide. Each week, the site would publish new abusive materials. The victims’ identity would be masked to allow only a few visual and audio clues.

The abuse discovered by Interpol was carried out by the site’s main administrator in Thailand's Surin province - Montri Salangam - who lured the children to his home with meals, Internet access and football games. One of the victims is his own nephew.

“The investigation took six months before we could identified the victims in Surin. The website sharing abusive images has revealed a link with Australia's Adelaide. Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI), as a result, worked with the Australian police to arrest a suspect in Australia on the same day we arrested the suspect in Thailand, Jan 16, 2018,” said Police Captain Kemachart Prakaihongmanee from DSI.

The first victims were identified in November 2017, followed by arrests in Thailand, Australia and the United States. Among the offenders was a second site administrator based in Australia - Ruecha Tokputza. His confiscated devices revealed thousands of images taken in Thailand and Australia, some of which showed him as the main abuser.

Both the abusers have been sentenced for their crimes. In June last year, Thai courts handed Salangam 146 years in prison on charges of child rape, human trafficking, possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials.

On May 17, Tokputza was sentenced to 40 years and three months in prison - the longest jail sentence ever imposed in Australia for child sex offences. He was described by an Australian judge as “every child’s worst nightmare” and “every parent’s horror”.

Besides the 50 victims already identified, police believe there are still 100 more who have suffered sexual abuse. Investigators are currently trying to identify them as they continue to comb through devices and chat groups, website users and offenders. As for the abusive images and videos seized, they have been uploaded to Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation database.

"Every image is evidence of a crime. It's important to work on these images to identify the crime," said Interpol’s criminal intelligence officer Cecilia Wallin. "One of the unit's main purposes is to identify the victims through images and videos. We do that through a global network."

According to Eric McLoughlin from the US Homeland Security Investigations in Bangkok, Operation Blackwrist has led to numerous arrests in the US involving individuals occupying “positions of public trust”, and another one who was also abusing his two-year-old stepbrother.

The operation is a sophisticated and collaborative effort involving security and intelligence officers from nearly 60 countries worldwide, including those from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) who took on the case in June 2017.



Following Interpol’s discovery of child sexual abuse materials produced in Thailand, US investigators identified the website IP address before Bulgaria’s Cybercrime Department took down the website’s server.



In New Zealand, the Department of Internal Affairs compiled information on website users for Interpol member countries. Email addresses were then cross-checked by the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and additional intelligence was provided.

An IP address pointed to a location in Adelaide, prompting the Australian police to join the operation.

"This kind of investigation shows two things," said acting deputy assistant director of the HIS David Magdycz.

"To the criminals, wherever you are in the world, you cannot hide," he added. "And victims have a voice."
Interpol's Operation Blackwrist arrests nine people in Australia, Thailand and the United States, and rescues 50 children in connection with a 63,000-member online pedophilia ring. More arrests are expected. Investigators from nearly 60 countries participated in this operation.