Men arrested in NI after dark web site take-down

Three men suspected of using a dark web streaming site that hosted tens of thousands of child sexual abuse videos have been identified by police in Northern Ireland.

Two of the men were arrested and released last month, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

Officers also seized a number of electronic devices during searches of the three suspects’ homes.

It follows the removal of the site Kidflix, described by the EU’s crime agency Europol as “one of the largest paedophile platforms in the world.”

The PSNI said a 34-year-old man was arrested in Dundonald on 19 March and five devices seized during a search of his home, while a 26-year-old man was arrested in Coleraine and two devices removed from his home.

Both men were released pending further enquiries.

During the search of a third man’s home in Londonderry on 20 March, police seized six devices.

“As this is an ongoing live investigation, the PSNI have no further comment to make at this stage,” a spokeswoman said.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it was alerted to the site by German police in February.

Officers have since identified a total of 63 suspects across the UK and 30 people have been arrested.

“With thanks to our law enforcement partners in Germany and Europol, a dangerous site hosting tens of thousands of child sexual abuse videos has been taken down,” the NCA’s Neil Keeping said.

“Providing this global to local response is paramount in our role to protect children from child sexual abuse and criminals who seek out this content.”

Authorities have identified more than 1250 users of the site across the world.