London Letter: In the biggest police operation against suspected paedophiles who use the Internet officers from 34 forces across the United Kingdom raided 75 addresses yesterday, making up to 30 arrests.
Among those targeted by Operation Magenta were teachers and doctors, care workers, and a 15-year-old boy.
It is understood that during the raids, which followed a six-month police investigation into the use of Internet chat rooms to advertise and exchange images of abused children, officers seized large amounts of computer equipment and software containing images of child abuse.
The raids were carried out at business addresses as well as private houses across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where two computers and several computer disks were removed from a house in Co Antrim.
Operation Magenta was launched following an investigation into child pornography on the Internet 18 months ago, Det Insp Terry Jones, of Greater Manchester Police, told a press conference.
Explaining the purpose of the police raids and the possible link between child pornography on the Internet and child abuse, Mr Jones said he believed all the people targeted had gone into chat rooms containing pornographic and abusive images of children.
"This is not a case of an Internet surfer accidentally stumbling into a dodgy part of the Web," Mr Jones said.