An international child sex abuse probe has led to the rescue of 13 children and nearly 100 arrests in Australia and in the United States, officials announced Tuesday.
In a joint effort known as “Operation Bakis,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested 98 individuals for allegedly sharing child sex abuse material online, with at least 79 arrests of those arrests carried out by the FBI, NBC News reported. Through their joint efforts, the FBI and AFP rescued 13 children from further harm, the outlet reported. (RELATED: More Than 200 Sex Trafficking Victims Rescued In Nationwide Sweep)
FBI agents murdered by pedophile in 2021 did not die in vain. Continued investigation has now dismantled a child-sex ring in Australia with 800 victims ID’d, 19 arrests, and 13 kids rescued: https://t.co/dB3clYN1TN @FBI @smh
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) August 7, 2023
Operation Bakis launched in 2021 after the fatal shooting of two FBI agents. The agents, Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, had been executing a search warrant at an address in Sunrise, Florida where it was believed a man was in possession of child sex abuse material. David Lee Huber, 55, then opened fire, killing the two agents and injuring three others, according to an earlier report from NBC News.
The AFP joined forces with the FBI in 2022 after the FBI provided the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation with intelligence regarding individuals in Australia who were suspected of being part of a “peer-to-peer network allegedly sharing child abuse material on the dark web,” NBC News reported.
Users of the network allegedly used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network, while others produced their own child abuse material to share, the outlet stated.
“The complexity and anonymity of these platforms means that no agency or country can fight these threats alone,” FBI Legal Attaché Nitiana Mann explained, according to NBC News. “As we continue to build bridges through collaboration and teamwork, we can ensure the good guys win and the bad guys lose,” Mann continued.