Six underage boys among 32 held in ops against CSAM
KUALA LUMPUR: At just 17, he had earned RM76,000 in nine months – only by selling child sexual abuse material online.
The teenager was among 31 arrested in a large-scale operation against the distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). Of those arrested, six were underage – and one of them was just 12.
There was another worrying finding in this operation – the involvement of individuals entrusted with responsibility, like religious teachers, said Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail.
At a press conference in Bukit Aman yesterday, he said the arrests were made in nationwide raids from Sept 22 to 30 under Ops Pedo 2.0.
The operation was led by the Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11).
The press conference was also attended by Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department director Comm Datuk M. Kumar and D11 principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Siti Kamsiah Hassan.
“The raids led to the discovery of over 880,000 digital files that contained CSAM and adult pornography. This is 20 times more than the number found during Ops Pedo 1.0 in Dec 2024, when 40,000 files were found,” said Mohd Khalid.
“We have arrested 31 suspects, including one foreigner. All suspects are males aged between 12 and 71; six of them are underage.
“They come from a variety of backgrounds, including teachers, engineers, cooks, students and retirees,” he said.
The IGP added that 17 have been charged in court, with 14 released on police bail.
He noted that the commercialisation of these materials was “structured and financially motivated”.
The arrest of teenagers peddling porn, he said, showed a worrying change in the levels of moral values.
“Even children are downloading and storing these materials in large quantities.
“There are also those who were exchanging materials for monetary profits,” he said.
Police investigations showed that the materials were sold for as low as RM30 and that the files seized contained CSAM made locally and overseas.
A total of 82 devices were seized during the operations.
“The drastic increase in CSAM cases from year to year is alarming and requires enhanced investigative capacity,” he said.
“Of the 17 charged, 15 had pleaded guilty and were sentenced to fines of between RM1,000 and RM10,000, while two will proceed to trial,” he said.
The identified modus operandi includes buying and selling materials through social media platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook, while some individuals also purchase these materials from the dark web and cloud storage. Payments were made via e-wallet transactions and QR code banking.
“Online sexual crimes against children are grave offences and will not be tolerated.
“Families need to enhance digital safety awareness and monitor children’s use of digital devices, besides instilling moral and ethical values in facing the challenges of the modern cyber world,” said Mohd Khalid.
“Strict action will be taken against anyone who sells their dignity and the safety of children,” he said.
