6/29/09
Police in Switzerland have uncovered a child pornography ring that secretly used a hip hop website to distribute illegal images to some 2,300 computers in 78 countries.

The videos depicting minors engaged in sexual acts were hidden in the unidentified site where the principal content was "perfectly legal," Jean-Christophe Sauterel, a police spokesman in the Vaud canton of Switzerland, told Reuters. Those accessing the illegal material paid $10 to download one video and $500 for the full collection of 101 titles, with proceeds going to operators in Russia.

The discovery has prompted arrests in the US, Poland, Greece and other countries. The investigation was prompted by a tip from Interpol. The site was devoted to hip hop music but was used to stash child pornography that could be accessed with secret codes. The site operator was unaware of of the illicit activity, police said.

An inquiry was launched after a tip-off from Interpol about a website based in Switzerland being used as a forum for illegal child pornography films.

The site was officially devoted to hip hop music but was used to access videos of child pornography via secret codes.

The site designer was unaware of how it was being used, Swiss media report.

Swiss federal police spokeswoman Eva Zwahlen said the authorities had been monitoring the website in the south-western canton of Vaud, the Associated Press reports.

She confirmed a Swiss newspaper report that the investigation involved people from the US, Poland, Greece and other countries.

Jean-Christophe Sauterel, a police spokesman in Vaud, told Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche that it was "the biggest concern of its kind dismantled in Switzerland".

According to the newspaper, dozens of arrests and several convictions have been made as a result of the investigation, which began in May 2008.

Speaking about suspected users of the illegal material in Switzerland, Mr Sauterel said none of them were based in Vaud itself.

The website's owner told the newspaper of their shock at being told by police about how it had been used illegally.

The site's designer was not aware what it was being used for and was cleared of any involvement in the ring, police were quoted as saying by AFP news agency.