Three New Zealanders have been arrested and convicted for participation in an international child exploitation ring following an investigation organized by the New Zealand police and America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Greece as well as Australia, Canada, France, Romania, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom.

As part of the operations, four children in New Zealand were removed from potentially dangerous situation due to their exposure to the offenders that were charged with the distribution of explicit images of child abuse online.

Detective Sergeant John Michael said: “The three New Zealanders arrested were among 48 individuals identified and arrested worldwide as part of this operation. So far, 31 children have been rescued from abusive situations. Four children in New Zealand have been safeguarded from potential abuse. The trade in child abuse images is a serious criminal offence that victimises and revictimises our most vulnerable members of society.”

Investigations that began in July 2014 are ongoing and the arrests in New Zealand have lead to more than 100 investigative leads in countries involved, including Greece.