Police raids across Italy on Thursday targeted 20 people including minors who are suspected of circulating pornographic images of children, mainly on the popular WhatsApp messenging service.
In the operation, police searched locations in 16 cities across the country and seized smartphones, computers and tablets from suspects.
The raids took place in Catania, Siracusa, Ragusa, Palermo, Caltanissetta, Reggio Calabria, Potenza and Avellino in southern Italy, Rome and Lucca in central Italy, and Reggio Emilia, Milan, Turin, Cuneo, Treviso and Venice in the northeast.
The operation came after police in the eastern Sicilian port city of Catania launched a probe upon receiving a complaint from the parents of a 16-year-old girl allegedly involved in the suspected paedophile ring.
The girl and other suspected member of the paedophile ring had all met online, according to investigators.
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