Operation Hello': Maxi Blitz Against Online Child Pornography in 56 Cities.

State Police arrest 34 people and seize thousands of child pornography files in unprecedented nationwide operation.

Arrests and searches in 56 Italian cities

In recent days, the State Police, on behalf of the District Attorney's Office of Catania, conducted a nationwide operation aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of minors online. The operation, which involved over 500 operators in 56 Italian cities, led to the execution of 115 home and computer searches. At the end of the operations, 34 individuals were arrested, found in possession of large quantities of child pornography. Numerous computer devices containing tens of thousands of illegal files were seized.

A complex and far-reaching investigation

The operation was coordinated by the Catania District Attorney's Office and conducted by State Police investigators from the Catania Cyber ​​Security Operations Center, with the support of the National Center for the Countering of Online Child Pornography (CNCPO) of the Postal Police Service.

Through an undercover operation on a well-known instant messaging platform, specialists from the Postal Police were able to identify several groups engaged in the exchange of child pornography, which included images of children abused as children and content of bestiality with minor victims.

The identification of the users involved required a complex work of in-depth investigation and advanced technical analysis to overcome the barriers of online anonymity. In some cases, international investigations were necessary, ordered by the Catania Prosecutor's Office.

Advanced technologies to discover authors

Most of the suspects used sophisticated encryption and cloud storage systems to hide the illicit material, making it extremely difficult to trace. However, thanks to the high specialization of the Postal Police investigators and the use of advanced digital forensic techniques, it was possible to decrypt the protected data and reconstruct the digital paths, collecting evidence essential to the investigation.

Arrests in several Italian provinces

The 34 arrested reside in various Italian provinces, including Catania, Syracuse, Agrigento, Naples, Pescara, Foggia, Rome, Latina, Milano, Brescia, Florence, Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, Pordenone, Lecce, Viterbo, Avellino, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Frosinone, Varese, Vicenza and Cagliari.

The searches, instead, were carried out in 56 cities, including Agrigento, Arezzo, Avellino, Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Caltanissetta, Caserta, Catania, Chieti, Como, Cosenza, Cremona, Florence, Foggia, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Lecce, Livorno, Mantua, Massa Carrara, Messina, Milano, Modena, Monza Brianza, Naples, Oristano, Palermo, Parma, Pesaro, Pescara, Pisa, Pistoia, Pordenone, Potenza, Ragusa, Ravenna, Reggio Calabria, Rimini, Rome, Salerno, Savona, Syracuse, Sondrio, South Sardinia, Taranto, Turin, Trapani, Treviso, Varese, Verona, Vicenza and Viterbo.

An alarming picture

The suspects, all male and aged between 21 and 59, come from different social backgrounds. Among those arrested, two individuals were found in possession not only of thousands of child pornography files, but also of self-produced images and videos with sexual abuse of minors. The victims of these abuses have already been identified by the police officers.

Investigations continue

The seized material is currently being examined by the investigating magistrates and the Postal Police for further investigation. The aim is to consolidate the circumstantial evidence and identify any other victims.

Operation “Hello'” represents an important victory in the fight against online child sexual exploitation, demonstrating the authorities' continued commitment to combating this serious criminal phenomenon.