The so-called Operation Turko (an anagram with the name of social networking website Orkut) was launched in 20 states and in Brazil's Federal District. According to police, 400 officers are taking part in the operation.
A total of 92 search warrants were issued, 46 of which have already been executed. Three arrests were made in Sao Paulo state, two in Rio Grande do Sul, and one each in Espirito Santo, Mato Grosso and Pernambuco states.
The names of the arrested were not disclosed, as investigations are being carried out secretly. Police also seized several DVDs and hard disks full of pornographic materials during the operation.
The Federal Police based the investigations on over 3,000 accounts on Orkut, which were reported to NGO Safernet for allegedly having child pornography content. The police found pornographic materials in 805 of those, and managed to identify 107 suspects of divulging child pornography materials on the Internet.
The operation was the first since the agreement signed by the Brazilian government and Google, which owns Orkut to grant governmental access to Orkut profiles in child pornography investigations.
It is also the first large operation since Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a new law which classifies possession of child pornography material as a crime. Before this law, only sharing such material was a crime, which led to policemen having to release pedophiles when they could not find proof that the material had been distributed by the suspects.
The people arrested on Monday would be charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. The sentence for possession is one to four years in jail, and three to six years for distribution.
Source: FOCUS Information Agency
