Nordic Internet child porn ring busted

Authorities from four Nordic nations cooperated in a secret sting operation tracking Scandinavians distributing and downloading child pornography. After a month of legwork, the inter-Nordic investigation raided dozens of addressed and arrested many people.

The secret investigation was named Operation Viking, and involved agencies from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The mission was kept secret from other law agencies so the paedophiles couldn’t destroy evidence if word leaked out. After tracking dozens of people who were involved in online child pornography, police have so far raided 20 homes in Denmark, 15 home in Norway, and 23 addresses in Sweden and Finland.

The Copenhagen Post reports the suspects who were arrested were using peer-to-peer online software such as Limewire and Kazaa to share child porn. Deputy Superintendent Sten Sorensen from the National IT Investigation Centre (NITEC) stated that so far 13 of the arrested suspects admitted possessing child pornography, and ten of those admitted distributing it.

Police confiscated computers during the raids and are now examining them for further leads and hard evidence. Sorensen said that most of the suspects currently being questioned will probably end up being released, since police are only seeking to detain those directly involved in child abuse.

In Sweden, the IT-crimes section of the National Investigation Department stated “The raid has been under preparation during the entire spring in cooperation with our Nordic colleagues and eleven local Swedish police authorities. The preparations have worked very well and we’re going to continue with our Nordic cooperation.”