ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Europol on Wednesday said 28 men across seven European countries were arrested on suspicion of buying material depicting sexual abuse of children through online forums, adding that three children were safeguarded as a result of the cross-border operation.

“Authorities from seven countries, supported by Europol, have carried out a major operation against child sexual exploitation, leading to the arrest of 28 individuals. As a result, three children have been safeguarded,” the European law enforcement agency said in a statement, adding that the operation was carried out in mid-June.

The suspects aged between 22 and 54 were arrested in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany, Europol said, accusing one individual of actively using AI to generate illegal material.

“Some of the victims were part of another suspect’s immediate family,” Europol added.

The investigation was led by Norwegian police, which developed a new method to trace cryptocurrency transactions, the means through which the suspects allegedly paid for the material on dark web forums. The tracing method also led to the arrest of two sellers of the illegal material.

“We have worked closely with six countries to coordinate the arrests of the identified users who paid with cryptocurrency to gain access to the forums,” police prosecutor Terje Nedrebo Michelsen said in a statement.

Childlight, a global children’s safety monitor, said in a 2025 report that around 300 million children are affected by technology-facilitated abuse every year.

During the operation, dubbed “Torch,” Europol provided operational support and coordination while cross-checking data with intelligence. It also assisted Norwegian authorities in distributing evidence packages to the participating countries.

“The fight against child sexual exploitation remains a key priority for Europol. In addition to its support in preventing and detecting crimes related to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, Europol is currently running two major initiatives in this field,” Europol said.