Police in 12 European Union countries and the United States searched more than 150 houses and arrested several people suspected of being involved in child pornography, the European police agency said today.
Europol, which coordinated the raid, said the Dutch National Police Agency provided initial intelligence for 76 countries related to an Internet message board whose members' activities included possession and distribution of child abuse material.
The network used sophisticated techniques to hide members' electronic identities and to post encrypted content for a short period of time on free web services, Europol said.
"Today's arrests and house searches are an important action against those who either directly or indirectly are responsible for the sexual exploitation of children," Europol Director Max-Peter Ratzel said in a statement.
"The next step in the investigation will be to try to prove the link between the illegal content and the active abuse."
Europol did not say how many people were arrested nor in which countries. The investigation in the United States was carried out by the FBI, it said.