The RCMP say in the wake of an international police operation led by New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), into online child sexual exploitation, 47 Canadians have been arrested and 12 children have been removed from abusive situations.

While 186 charges have been laid in Canada so far, the RCMP says the global operation, dubbed Operation H, is ongoing.

Operation H was launched in October 2019 by the DIA’s Digital Child Exploitation Team after it received an alert from an Electronic Service Provider who discovered a large number of subscribers using the platform to share graphic and violent child sexual abuse material online.

The New Zealand team advised the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Unit (NCECC) of a secure cloud storage site containing some of what investigators describe as the most horrific, child sexual abuse material. More than 90,000 online accounts were identified as having possessed or traded child sexual abuse material.

The operation resulted in arrests in eight Canadian provinces over the last two years.

Superintendent Andre Boileau, Officer in Charge of NCECC says “Online child sexual exploitation is borderless and is among the most heinous crimes targeting our most vulnerable -our children. This global operation demonstrates the importance of collaborative law enforcement efforts. The RCMP and its partners around the globe are committed to detecting, identifying and safeguarding children from online child sexual exploitation. Operation H is a prime example of how global collaboration can help all of our countries to protect children.”

The NCECC includes a team of victim identification specialists trained in advanced investigative techniques including forensic image and video analysis. They work closely with other victim identification specialists around the world to identify and rescue victims of online child sexual abuse.