One of the world’s largest pedophile platforms was closed after international investigations. Codes are widely used as a payment method for child sexual abuse images.
Kidflix is similar to a streaming service, with 1.8 million users worldwide logging on to the site between April 2022 and March of this year, according to Europol.
Detectives either identified 1,275 people who used their digital assets to purchase child sexual assault material, or uploaded their own material to earn credit.
So far, 79 suspects have been arrested, more than 3,000 electronic devices have been seized, and 39 children are protected from further abuse.
Europol says this is the biggest child sexual exploitation operation in its history. Kidflix was more refined than other pedophile platforms that were previously obsolete.
Over 91,000 unique videos, with a total of 6,288 hours of running time, were uploaded to the site, with an average of 3.5 new clips uploaded every hour. Law enforcement previously had not noticed much of the footage.
Each video was available in low, medium and high quality, with pedophiles paying a premium for larger files.
Over 35 countries around the world were involved in the business in order to close down a dark website led by German Bavarian national investigators.
Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol, warned that there are “real victims” behind these crimes, saying, “The digital dimension promotes the rapid evolution of child sexual exploitation online, provides a boundary-free platform for criminals to contact and bride and groom victims, and provides for the creation, storage and exchange of child sexual abuse material.
In a statement, the UK National Crime Bureau confirmed that 63 of the Kidflix British people have been identified so far, of which 30 have been arrested.
“Providing this global community response is paramount in our role in protecting children from child sexual abuse,” said Neil Keeper, senior manager at the NCA.
Because cryptographic transfers can be monitored through blockchain analysis, traceability of digital assets helps bring detectives to trial by criminals.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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