National Day of Action
Raid against child pornography: Police search apartments in 27 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia
The logo of the central contact point for cybercrime (ZAC) hangs on a glass door. With a nationwide raid in 27 cities, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia investigated the spread of child pornography
©David Young/DPA
Raids throughout North Rhine-Westphalia: During the state-wide day of action, the police searched the homes of 35 suspects who are said to have exchanged child pornographic images and videos.
The police took action against child pornography in North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday with a large-scale raid. The authorities searched the homes of 35 suspects in a total of 27 cities during the nationwide day of action, according to the Cologne public prosecutor and the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf. There were missions in Bonn, Essen, Cologne and Wuppertal, among others.
Action day is intended to illustrate “consistent pursuit strategy”.
According to the information, the accused are suspected of having exchanged child pornographic images and videos via a messenger service. “The fact that images of abuse are also shared via ordinary messenger services shows the extent of the problem of child pornography on the Internet,” explained Markus Hartmann, head of the central and contact point for cybercrime in North Rhine-Westphalia, which led the day of action.
Hartmann announced a continuation of the “consistent pursuit strategy”. According to their own statements, the authorities want to use the day of action to make it clear that the spread of child pornography is being consistently pursued. “The fight against child pornography is a long-distance race in which we will not let up,” explained Ingo Wünsch, director of the State Criminal Police Office in North Rhine-Westphalia. The operation initially continued on Tuesday.