Police in seven countries, working with Europol, arrested 28 men and placed three children in safety during an operation targeting child sexual exploitation, the agency said on Wednesday.
The operation took place from late May to mid-June in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Investigators also seized more than 460 items, including electronic devices, cryptocurrency wallets, drugs and large quantities of performance-enhancing substances.
Europol said the operation is ongoing and further arrests are expected.
All of the suspects are men aged between 22 and 54. Europol said one of them made extensive use of artificial intelligence to create illegal material.
Some of the victims were part of the immediate family circle of another suspect, according to Europol.
Investigators believe the suspects used cryptocurrencies to pay for access to darknet forums, where they allegedly downloaded or watched videos showing the sexual abuse of children.
They are being prosecuted for possessing, obtaining and distributing child sexual abuse material.
The investigation was led by Norwegian law enforcement, which in 2025 developed a method to trace cryptocurrency transactions.
That method enabled investigators to identify people who had paid for access to child sexual abuse material. It also helped identify two sellers of such content.
