--- description: Nine people were arrested in Thailand, Australia and the U.S. in Interpol bust on a paedophile ring linked to a "dark web" site title: 50 Children Rescued as Officials Bust Paedophile Ring image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b8fb04777db94c/69894a63b21a9c6ad0500a6d/interpol-paedophile-ring.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [justice](/tag/justice/) ## justice Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 50 Children Have Been Rescued After Officials Busted a Multinational Paedophile Ring by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 24, 2019 6:07 AM CUT  A logo at the newly completed Interpol Global Complex for Innovation building is seen during the inauguration opening ceremony in Singapore on April 13, 2015. A logo at the newly completed Interpol Global Complex for Innovation building is seen during the inauguration opening ceremony in Singapore on April 13, 2015.Roslan Rahman—AFP/Getty Images by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 24, 2019 6:07 AM CUT Nine people were arrested in Thailand, Australia and the U.S. and 50 children were rescued following an Interpol investigation into an international [paedophile ring.](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-48379983 "undefined") The investigation, which began two years ago and is called Operation Blackwrist, targeted a “dark web” site that had more than 60,000 global users, according to the BBC. Operation Blackwrist began after Interpol spotted images showing 11 boys under the age of 13 on a website where users utilized encrypted software to hide their identities, according to the BBC. According to an [Interpol statement](https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2019/50-children-rescued-9-sex-offenders-arrested-in-international-operation "undefined"), weekly images of children being abused were being uploaded to the site, but it was difficult to track down the perpetrators as the children’s faces were generally hidden. Last year, the site’s main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand and has been sentenced to 146 years in prison, according to the BBC. Another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was also arrested last year in Australia, where he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The names of those arrested have not yet been released. Interpol said they believe 100 more children may have suffered abuse, and they are working to identify them. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5595291/interpol-busts-paedophile-ring/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5595291/interpol-busts-paedophile-ring/"},"headline":"50 Children Have Been Rescued After Officials Busted a Multinational Paedophile Ring","datePublished":"2019-05-24T06:07:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:35:45.557Z","description":"The arrests were part of an Interpol investigation dubbed Operation Blackwrist","url":"https://time.com/5595291/interpol-busts-paedophile-ring/","keywords":["justice","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b8fb04777db94c/69894a63b21a9c6ad0500a6d/interpol-paedophile-ring.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b8fb04777db94c/69894a63b21a9c6ad0500a6d/interpol-paedophile-ring.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"interpol-busts-paedophile-ring","caption":"Interpol Busts Paedophile Ring","creditText":"Roslan Rahman—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5595291/interpol-busts-paedophile-ring/","name":"50 Children Have Been Rescued After Officials Busted a Multinational Paedophile Ring"}}]}] ```