INTERPOL says police arrested 95 suspects in International Effort Confluencia, a four-operation crackdown on the production, distribution and commercial sale of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through messaging services and cryptocurrency channels. The coordinated work ran from March through September 2026 across Latin America and Europe, with 127 search warrants executed and a five-year-old child rescued.
What International Effort Confluencia was
Announced by INTERPOL on 15 October 2026, International Effort Confluencia brought four parallel investigations together so police could share intelligence and act against suspects operating across borders. The cases focused on CSAM-related production, distribution, payment and sales conducted through digital communication services and cryptocurrency channels.
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The operation targeted activity in 17 countries. INTERPOL’s announcement names Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain and Uruguay. That published list contains 16 names, while INTERPOL gives a total of 17 participating countries; the announcement does not identify the additional country.
What police did and what they found
Investigators carried out 127 search warrants during the coordinated action. One operation led to the rescue of a five-year-old child whose parent was allegedly producing and selling abuse material online. INTERPOL said seized devices and files will be examined for evidence that can identify more suspects and children who may still be at risk.
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Country-level findings reported by INTERPOL
| Country | Finding reported by INTERPOL | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | More than 4,000 files and about 15 GB of abuse images were found on a suspect’s devices. | The scale of a single cache can reveal extensive storage and sharing activity. |
| Panama | Police arrested the administrator of a group with more than 700 users. | Large membership groups can provide distribution networks and contacts among suspects. |
| Argentina | Police reported that a suspect was allegedly in contact with more than 260 girls worldwide, threatened victims who resisted increasingly explicit demands and faces accusations of sextortion of minors. | The case illustrates how grooming, coercion and attempted monetization can overlap. |
The country figures are allegations and investigative findings attributed to INTERPOL; an arrest is not a conviction, and courts in each jurisdiction will determine the legal outcome.
How messaging services were used
INTERPOL said messaging platforms are increasingly used at several stages of abuse: grooming children, coordinating contact between offenders, distributing or recirculating material, arranging payments and selling access. Cryptocurrency channels can make payment and commercial exchanges harder to trace, while private or group messaging can let material spread rapidly among connected users.
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Every further share can harm a child again. Material may remain in circulation after an original investigation, creating repeated victimization even when the first uploader has been identified. That is why investigators treat user lists, payment records, account histories and stored files as potential leads to additional victims and offenders rather than as isolated evidence from one device.
What happens after the 95 arrests
The arrests start a longer investigative and safeguarding process. The likely sequence is:
- Forensic examination: Specialists preserve and analyze seized phones, computers, storage media, account records and payment information.
- Victim and offender identification: Hashes, images, usernames, communications and transaction links can be compared with existing cases to identify children at risk and other participants.
- Immediate safeguarding: Authorities can coordinate protection, medical care and social-service support for identified children, including the child rescued during this action.
- Cross-border case building: Evidence gathered in one country may support warrants, interviews or arrests in another, subject to each country’s legal procedures.
- Prosecutorial decisions: National prosecutors and courts decide charges, detention, trial and sentencing. Those outcomes were not established by the arrest announcement.
INTERPOL expects the seized material to generate further identifications and safeguarding actions. The eventual number of additional cases cannot be known until forensic work and international requests are completed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why international cooperation is central
Suspects can store files in one country, communicate from another, target children elsewhere and use payment systems that cross several jurisdictions. A single national investigation may therefore expose only part of the network. Shared intelligence, synchronized warrants and cooperation with private-sector platforms can help investigators connect those pieces before accounts, devices or evidence disappear.
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Stephen Fry, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Investigation Support, said: “Intelligence gathered during these operations exposes, once again, the growing role of digital platforms in the monetization of child sexual abuse. Effective cross-border cooperation between law enforcement and the private sector has never been more urgent. Behind every file is a child who was abused, and who is revictimized every time that image recirculates. Wherever offenders move, we have to move faster.”
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What the announcement does—and does not—establish
- It establishes an INTERPOL-coordinated enforcement action conducted from March through September 2026, not a completed court process.
- It reports 95 arrests and 127 search warrants, but does not provide a final count of charges, convictions or sentences.
- It shows that investigators found both individual caches and large user groups, but does not imply that every member of a group has been charged.
- It confirms one child rescue and says more children and suspects may be identified as evidence is processed; it does not provide a final total of future victims or arrests.
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