449 arrested in biggest raid against illegal child pornography racket in Taiwan: Report

In what has turned out to be the biggest operation against unlawful pornography rackets in Taiwan, the police have conducted a raid on a major child sexual abuse syndicate in the East Asian country.

On Thursday, August 1, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Taiwan declared that as many as 449 individuals had been taken into custody on suspicion of having photos and films of women being filmed in lavatories without their consent, as well as footage of child sexual assault, according to a report by The Independent.

At a news conference, Lin Chien-lung, the head of the agency, charged the accused with engaging in organized crime, money laundering, and breaching Taiwan's Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act. As per reports of local media organisations, teachers, civil servants, police officers, IT workers, and military personnel were among the ones arrested in the raid.

Chuangyi Sifang, Taiwan's largest illicit pornography site with thousands of members, was purportedly run by one of the arrested - a man named Chang - on behalf of its alleged owner, Chinese national Lao Ma.

Two Telegram groups and another internet platform were also used by the racket in order to carry out their activities. The content that was uploaded featured films of women being filmed in public restrooms as well as explicit photos of children and teenagers.

“A special task team was formed by the National Criminal Police Department and 350 police officers were mobilised to carry out two waves of synchronous sweep operations in 17 counties and cities across the country,” Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau claimed on Facebook.

Computers, cell phones, bank documents, and cash from places in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China totaling as much as £23,500 were confiscated by the police.

Women's and children's rights organizations have previously criticized Taiwan's government for having tolerant laws regarding the possession of photos that depict the sexual abuse of children.