Child porn bust may be biggest ever

May 15, 2003
Swedish police believe the child porn case uncovered by Kripos, Norway's National Bureau of Crime Investigation, can be one of the biggest in Internet history. Over 40 young girls may have been victimized. "In recent years there have been many child porn cases involving the Internet, but this has dimensions that make it unique. We believe that over 40 young girls may have been abused and photographed. There are many indications that this is the most significant case of this type in the world," said Per-Olov Forslund, head of Sweden's national police squad in charge of fighting child pornography. A 41-year-old Swedish citizen is in custody, suspected of abusing a number of children, largely in the Huddinge district in south Stockholm. He is alleged to have photographed and filmed his assaults and then distributed the images to pedophiles around the world via the Internet. Both Norwegian and Swedish police are convinced that the Norwegian man arrested in Fredrikstad on Tuesday morning is connected to the Swedish suspect.

International acclaim

Kripos has won international acclaim for their role in the case, having worked for two years on tracing details about a recurring series of children pictured in pornographic images. Interpol first noticed the pattern, and believed the victims were northern Europeans. Thanks to their investigations and two handy tips, Kripos could deliver the chief suspect's name to colleagues in Sweden. "There is no doubt that Kripos has done an invaluable job. Cases of this type are very international, since child porn spreads via the Internet across the world, but many countries refuse to do anything. Kripos took up the challenge and deserves respect for that," Forslund said. Interpol is also reportedly planning to honor the Norwegian effort, but Kripos is not getting excited. "There is no hocus-pocus involved in what we have done. Even if much of the investigation has taken place on the Internet, we haven't done anything other than good old-fashioned police work," said Kripos superintendent Håvard Aksnes.