12 October 2007

PARIS (AFP) - French police have arrested more than 300 people accused of trading child pornography on the Internet during a nation-wide crackdown on suspected pedophiles, officials said Thursday.

During a four-day operation launched on Monday, police and paramilitary gendarmes identified 310 people thought to be swapping pornographic images and videos of pre-teen children online, the police said in a statement.

More than 1.4 million photos and 27,000 videos have been seized, and more than a dozen judicial inquiries opened since the start of the operation, dubbed "Rainbow," which mobilised some 330 officers in 78 French departments.

Of those arrested, 132 have admitted to trading in child porn -- often in vast quantities -- while 24 others have been cleared of involvement.

AFP

Subject: French news