Russian agents make Internet pornography arrests

The investigation, named Operation Blue Orchid after the Internet website, was triggered by a request from Moscow City Police, who asked for help in stopping the operation, according to U.S. Customs Service officials. Investigators followed the trail from the alleged Moscow-based website operator, Sergey Garbko and Vsevolod Solntsev-Elbe, to U.S. customers who ordered videotapes from them.

Enforcement actions have also been carried out in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, officials said. Officials charge that the victims were mostly young boys from homeless or troubled families, many from the town of Novokuybishevsk, about 560 miles outside of Moscow. Buyers paid 200 to 300 dollars per videotape, officials said. It was the third time Moscow City police and U.S. customs agents have teamed up in successful operations, officials said. Moscow City police have received some training at the U.S. Customs CyberSmuggling Centre in Virginia. "The global nature of the Internet demands a global response by law enforcement to protect innocent children, regardless of thier nationalities," said Acting U.S. Customs Commissioner Charles Winwood.

(sda)