Arrest in Alicante as part of an operation to combat child pornography in 11 countries

Arrests of 13 individuals for the distribution of child pornography in various Spanish locations, including Alicante, were made by National Police officers in a joint operation coordinated by Europol and involving 11 European countries. In Spain alone, 18 investigations and searches were conducted during the operation, which involved over 100 officers. The seizure of 39 electronic devices, which contained over 41,000 videos and 28,000 photographs of highly sensitive child sexual content, was the result.

In this international operation, which was conducted in conjunction with Spain and ten other countries—Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden—166 individuals were apprehended and 774 searches were conducted with the assistance of international agencies.

The Child Protection Section of the Central Cybercrime Unit conducted the operational action in Spain, coordinating the technological crime investigation groups from various provinces, including Alicante, Barcelona, Cáceres, Castellón, A Coruña, Lleida, Madrid, Navarra, Ourense, Las Palmas, Santander, Tenerife, Valencia, and Zaragoza. The operation was attended by over 100 officers.

39 devices, including laptop and desktop computers, mobile phones, USB flash drives, hard drives, and external memory cards, were seized during the 18 searches. These devices were used to obtain over 41,000 videos and 28,000 images of highly sensitive child sexual content.

Thirteen individuals were apprehended during the operation, with one of them being detained in the province of Alicante. Additionally, five individuals, including a woman, are currently under investigation. This type of investigation is challenging due to the fact that the profile of perpetrators of this type of crime does not follow a very heterogeneous pattern, as their ages range from 17 to 51.

During the week of March 24th-28th, police forces from a variety of European countries, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, collaborated to conduct a joint and coordinated operation against the possession, production, and distribution of child pornography. Additionally, the United Kingdom’s NCA agency, the FBI and HSI of the United States, and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) participated in the initiative.

More than 594,000 multimedia files have been downloaded from the 6,000 devices seized in the 774 house arrests and searches conducted at the European level, and 166 individuals have been arrested.