INTERPOL-coordinated operation arrests 95 suspects in international CSAM crackdown

International Effort Confluencia Results in Arrests

Law enforcement authorities from 17 countries in Latin America and Europe, coordinated by INTERPOL, arrested 95 suspects. The operation, named International Effort Confluencia, focused on individuals distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via online messaging groups. This joint action included four separate law enforcement operations conducted between March 2026 and September 2026.

Scope of the Operation

Investigators executed 127 search warrants, leading to the arrests. During these actions, a five-year-old victim was rescued; the child's parent had been producing and selling abuse material online. INTERPOL emphasized the urgency of cross-border cooperation between law enforcement and the private sector to combat this issue.

Specific Cases and Findings

Ecuadorian authorities found one individual with approximately 15GB of abuse images and over 4,000 files. In Panama, investigators arrested the administrator of a group disseminating abusive material, which had more than 700 users. An Argentinian suspect, allegedly in contact with over 260 girls globally, is accused of sextortion of minors after threatening victims who refused explicit content requests.

Role of Messaging Platforms

INTERPOL noted that messaging platforms are increasingly used for grooming children, coordinating abuse, connecting offenders, and facilitating payments for illegal content. These platforms also enable the recirculation of abuse content, leading to continued revictimization of children. Material seized during the investigation is expected to aid in identifying more offenders and children at risk.

Previous Operations

This operation follows other recent crackdowns. In February of the previous year, 25 suspects linked to a criminal ring distributing AI-generated CSAM were arrested in Operation Cumberland. German prosecutors also took down Kidflix, a large dark web CSAM platform, in April 2025, resulting in 79 additional arrests and the identification of 1,393 suspects. In June 2025, European and Latin American authorities arrested 20 more suspects in a separate operation targeting CSAM production and distribution via instant messaging.