This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7437003.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Child porn arrests in Australia Child porn arrests in Australia
(about 3 hours later)
Seventy people have been arrested in Australia in a nationwide operation to crack down on the use of child pornography on the web.Seventy people have been arrested in Australia in a nationwide operation to crack down on the use of child pornography on the web.
Police have investigated how paedophiles trade images that show child sex abuse over the internet and have secret communities online. The arrests followed a six-month investigation by police into paedophile communities online and how they trade pornographic images of children.
They found that explicit images left on a respectable European website were seen by people in 170 countries. The probe was launched after 99 explicit pictures were posted by a hacker on a respected European website.
The men arrested include a federal policeman and a primary school teacher. Over 76 hours, the site had 12 million hits from 150,000 users in 170 nations.
New technology More than 2,800 internet protocol (IP) addresses were traced back to Australia and then identified by police.
This is the biggest operation that Australian police have ever mounted against such abuse, and it has thrown fresh light on how exploitative images of children are shared and traded on the internet. Those arrested include a federal policeman and several teachers, reports say.
Chat rooms
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said that investigations were ongoing and there would be more arrests in the coming days.
Investigators had worked both with international partners and state police in what Mr Keelty described as one of Australia's largest single operations against images that show child sex abuse.
"In Australia the operation has netted over a million images of children, and these are not children in passive positions, these children who are being abused," he said.
The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney, says that the operation has thrown fresh light on how exploitative images of children are shared and traded on the internet.
It has shown how paedophiles briefly post pornographic images on legitimate websites, then alert each other to their presence in child porn chat rooms, which suddenly appear and then close almost as quickly.It has shown how paedophiles briefly post pornographic images on legitimate websites, then alert each other to their presence in child porn chat rooms, which suddenly appear and then close almost as quickly.
It has also provided evidence of how the latest technology, such as web-enabled devices like the Sony Playstation and new generation mobile phones are being used to download these images. It has also provided evidence of how the latest technology, such as web-enabled devices like the Sony Playstation and new generation mobile phones are being used to download these images, our correspondent adds.
Operation Centurion was launched after 99 explicit pictures were posted by a hacker on a respectable European website.
Within 76 hours, the site had received staggering 12 million hits.
Word had quickly got round online paedophile networks that the images had appeared on this previously obscure website.
They attracted 150,000 different computer users from 170 countries.
The 70 suspects arrested in Australia include a federal policeman, a junior sports coach and a youth worker.
A primary school teacher is accused of taking pictures of members of his class, and then putting their heads on exploitative images.