2 men, aged 27 & 33, arrested in S’pore for possessing & accessing child abuse material after crackdown in Italy
The men’s nationalities or whether they knew each other were not disclosed.
Two men, aged 27 and 33, were apprehended in Singapore for possessing and accessing child abuse material, according to reports from Singapore's Singapore Police Force (SPF). This development follows a series of arrests in Italy, where 17 individuals were detained as part of an investigation into an international network that distributed child sexual abuse material.
The SPF's action was prompted by information received from Italian authorities regarding an operation targeting a Telegram group that shared child abuse material. Details about the identities of the accused men and their relationship to each other remain undisclosed by the authorities.
Under Section 377BK of Singapore's Penal Code 1871, individuals found in possession or having accessed child abuse material, with knowledge or reasonable belief that the material is indeed child abuse, face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine or caning.
Italian police, in a press release on September 17, revealed the results of their "Fly Trap" operation, which led to the arrest of 17 individuals. These alleged members were part of a criminal organization specializing in the possession, dissemination, and trade of large quantities of child pornography. The operation, conducted under the moniker "Fly Trap," targeted a private online community on Telegram, which had over 1,000 participants.
Access to this private online community was granted through a dedicated link designed to recruit users, and continued membership was contingent upon members either making small cryptocurrency donations or sharing new child pornography material. The investigation traced its origins to the United States' Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) through a Telegram group called "New Saga."
Through undercover operations, investigators gained the trust of the organization's leadership, ultimately obtaining co-administrator credentials for various channels within the network. These channels were frequently recreated under different names to maintain anonymity and operational continuity. The administrators allegedly provided technical assistance to members on concealing files and evading law enforcement detection.
During these undercover operations alone, police recovered over 282 gigabytes of illicit content, comprising more than 22,000 videos and 34,000 images. This led to the issuance of six pre-trial detention orders against alleged leaders and prominent participants from various regions in Italy, including Naples, Barletta, Verona, Messina, and Genoa, as well as Switzerland. Additionally, 996 accounts linked to 98 foreign countries were identified.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
