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UK-based paedophile network smashed

A joint operation between the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) and Lincolnshire Police has uncovered a UK-based paedophile network.

Dubbed Operation Alpine, the investigation found a website that offered more than 1,300 suspected paedophiles across 45 countries access to millions of child abuse images.

On Friday (6 May) at Nottingham Crown Court, four men - Ian Frost, 35, Paul Rowlands, 34, Frost's brother Paul, 37, and Ian Sambridge, 32 - pleaded guilty to a number of charges relating to the distribution and possession of indecent images.

Police estimate that the defendants generated £2.2m from running the subscription service.

Police have said as a result of the operation 132 children have been "protected and safeguarded" and a number of suspected paedophiles have been taken out of positions of trust including teachers, doctors, and youth workers.

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