Two British Columbians are among a group of 11 people arrested for allegedly being part of a global child pornography ring that used Facebook to connect members and share materials.
The men were arrested as part of an international police operation that netted suspects in three countries. In addition to the two Canadians, six people were arrested in Britain and three in Australia.
According to a release from the Australian Federal Police, which co-ordinated the investigation, dubbed Project Ocean, one of the Canadian men has been charged with four counts relating to child exploitation in Canada.
The RCMP confirmed a second man was arrested in Kelowna, B.C. and police executed a search warrant of his home.
Police took a computer and other materials from the home, but have not yet charged the man, Const. Steve Holmes of the Kelowna RCMP told CTVBC.ca.
The computer is being sent to a forensic lab in Vancouver for further investigation.
The man has since been released.
No names or hometowns have been released for any of the 11 suspects, but the charges range from using a carriage service to access child pornography, to possessing child porn and making the material available to others.
In the U.K., two children have been "safeguarded" according to the release, but not further details were given.
The investigation was launched by the Australians in March of this year and operated as a partnership with the RCMP, the U.K.'s Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre and the FBI.
The operation began when a member of the Australia Federal Police Internet Policing Team created a Facebook account and was approached by a suspected member of the network.
Soon after, the other international agencies were brought in to the investigation, said Neil Gaughan, AFP national manager of high tech crime operations.
"Criminal activity of this type is often described as a borderless crime because there's no geographical restriction on where offenders may try to target their victims," Gaughan said in the release.
"Policing in this social networking environment is a challenge, but the co-operation during this operation demonstrates that international law enforcement is united in a global fight against online child exploitation material."
Facebook also played a role in the investigation, deactivating the accounts of the initial suspects. Soon after, however, police watched as the group began to reform under new accounts.
The members were described by police as "people who share an interest in viewing extremely disturbing images of children suffering horrific abuse."
RCMP Superintendent John Bilinski, who heads up the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, said Project Ocean is an example of how police agencies have to function in the world of high-tech, international crime.
"Project Ocean is a clear demonstration of how international co-operation can help ensure that child sexual offenders are brought to justice," he said in the release.
"One of our most effective strategies against Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse is co-operation."
