Milano, Operation “BitterSweet” to combat online child pornography. 11 computer searches and 3 arrests

In recent days, a Milano, State Police investigators arrested 3 men caught red-handed in the crime of possession of pornographic material created through the exploitation of minors.

The complex operation, called “Bittersweet”, carried out by the Cyber ​​Security Operations Center of Milano, was developed starting from the analysis of some reports received from foreign police bodies through the National Centre for the Countering of Online Child Pornography (CNCPO), operating within the Postal Police Service and for Cyber ​​Security.

In light of the evidence gathered by the Milanese cyber police, the magistrates of the specialized group of the Department "Protection of vulnerable subjects" of the Public Prosecutor's Office Milano they ordered 11 searches against as many individuals found in the Milan metropolitan area.
In addition to the homes of the suspects, the numerous electronic devices found in their possession were searched on site. As a result of the operations, 3 personal computers, 13 smartphones, 3 tablets and 15 cloud spaces were seized, as well as various hard disks, USB sticks and other memory media.
The data present on the devices and cloud spaces seized amount to approximately 5 terabytes in total.

During the searches of the three arrested subjects (a 43-year-old Italian citizen and two Peruvian citizens, aged 45 and 21 respectively), the technical operations carried out by the specialists of the Postal Police have made it possible to ascertain the presence on the respective computer devices not only of numerous videos and photos portraying minors – even at a young age – involved in sexual acts with peers and adults, but also traces of internet browsing indicative of a frantic search for ever new illicit material.

The important investigative result achieved by the State Police and the Judicial Authority was made possible by the high level of specialization possessed by the COSC operators of Milano, who, in addition to collecting all the elements useful for the precise reconstruction of the facts and the identification of individual responsibilities, put an end to the sexual violence perpetrated by one of those arrested against a young victim.

Operation “Bittersweet” represents yet another activity successfully completed by the State Police, which has always been at the forefront of preventing and combating the phenomenon of sexual exploitation of minors online.