The largest child sex abuse network, connected with thousands of people worldwide, has been busted in police operations across 30 countries.
Police forces in 30 countries were acting on 4,000 intelligence reports, which figured out the potential abusers who subscribed to the online network.
The outlawed group has had as many as 70,000 members, the reports said. Police raids have been conducted as a result of three years of tracking potential abusers, believed to have forced youngsters into sexual activity.
The London-based Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center said the worldwide illegal network's members reside mostly in Thailand, Austria, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy, and New Zealand.
The collapse of the abusive network ironically comes after a smear campaign which was fuelled by a derogatory statement at the Vienna International Airport in Austria, reviving anti-Turkish sentiments in Europe. Ankara has been furious with reports, which falsely claimed that Turkey allows sexual intercourse with children under the age of 15. Western media outlets have turned a deaf ear to the Justice Ministry's statements, which have refuted the allegations.
Approximately, 184 members of the network have been arrested on charges of forcing children into sexual activity, 121 of whom have been arrested in Britain.
Nearly 60 children, with many suffering a combination of sexual and physical abuse, have been placed under police protection.
Police have also determined 230 more child sexual abusers along with 670 people, suspected of abusing children.
