Some paedophiles portray themselves as young people while online to encourage more intimate conversations with children. Victims become commodities to be shared internationally. Morphing, a method of fusing pictures to create a new image, is increasingly popular with paedophiles. To date, there is no technology to detect morphing in electronic photographs. One operation, coordinated by the National Crime Squad in the United Kingdom, and involving 12 countries including Canada, investigated an international child pornography ring resulting in the arrest of more than 40 people in the fall of 1998.
Investigations are ongoing.
No Canadian citizens have been arrested to date. The ring under investigation was based in the United States but originally detected by the Sussex Police in southern England. The National Crime Squad coordinated raids internationally, including in Canada, which resulted in the seizure of computer equipment, and over 750,000 computer images and videos of children. Some of the club members simply exchanged material, but others produced videos and pictures. Another operation, originating in Germany with operations extending to other European countries as well as the United States and Canada, led to the identification of two suspects in Canada.