Police said the late-November operation, codenamed “Game Over,” targeted producers and distributors of child sexual abuse material.
Officers conducted 170 searches and secured 1,655 devices, including data carriers holding Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) and bestiality content.
Drugs, a firearm and ammunition were also found at some locations.
The detained men, ages 18 to 75, were charged with offenses including possession, distribution and production of illegal content. Two additionally face allegations of rape and compelling another person to perform a sexual act.
Among those arrested, police identified a 38-year-old suspected of recording the abuse of a child within his family circle and one of the 10 most active CSAM producers and distributors in Poland, allegedly posting on several pedophile forums.
Officers also detained a 46-year-old accused of committing other sexual acts against five children ages 3 to 9 from families he knew; seized recordings allegedly show him engaging in sexual acts with a boy of about 10. Another suspect is accused of inciting a mother to have sexual intercourse with her then-9-year-old son and to commit other sexual acts, a pattern investigators say may have lasted up to four years.
During the operation, police reached two children who were being blackmailed for nude images that offenders sought to circulate in pedophile networks.
“This is already the seventh operation against suspects in pedophile crimes. The scale of threats—as the results show—is enormous,” said Adam Cieślak, head of the bureau, adding that in several cases officers interrupted ongoing abuse and isolated alleged perpetrators. He said suspects identified in these actions had previously gone undetected in their communities.
The operation was coordinated with the National Prosecutor’s Office’s Department of Cybercrime and Informatization, regional prosecutors and the National Police Headquarters’ anti-human-trafficking unit, with support from provincial and county police.
Authorities said that across all such operations to date, police have carried out nearly 6,500 searches, brought charges against 477 suspects, secured more than 2.5 million illegal files and obtained pretrial detention orders for nearly 200 people.
(jh)
Source: PAP