German prosecutors said Wednesday that they are working with law enforcement authorities to dismantle one of the dark web’s largest paedophile forums, with more than 400,000 members.
Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement that the police set up a task force to investigate the forum’s behind-the-scenes operations, in cooperation with Europol, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, the United States and Canada, in mid-April to launch a multinational joint operation to arrest three forum managers, one of whom was arrested in Paraguay.
All three suspects were middle-aged men, the statement said. Police also arrested a 64-year-old man in Hamburg, one of the forum’s most active users, with more than 3,500 posts.
German officials say the forum is one of the largest paedophile forums on the dark web, created in 2019 or even earlier. Forum users, using anonymous activities, use the Forum to exchange and share material about child abuse, and often discuss new ways to deal with law enforcement.
The dark web refers specifically to a large number of incognito websites on the Internet, with the help of network tools to hide, users can only use encryption software to log in, anonymous communication on the site.
