"Effective cross-border cooperation between law enforcement and the private sector has never been more urgent," said Stephen Fry, Executive Director of INTERPOL Investigation Support.
INTERPOL coordinates International Effort Confluencia
Law enforcement authorities from 17 countries in Latin America and Europe carried out an INTERPOL-coordinated operation, named International Effort Confluencia, that resulted in the arrest of 95 suspects. The joint action comprised four law enforcement operations conducted between March 2026 and September 2026, according to the agency.
What investigators seized, and a child rescued
Investigators executed 127 search warrants during the operation. Those actions led not only to arrests but to a rescue: a five-year-old victim was recovered after investigators determined a parent had been producing and selling abuse material online. INTERPOL said material seized during the investigation is expected to lead to further identifications of offenders and children at risk, as well as additional safeguarding action.
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End the scrambleCountry-level findings: Ecuador, Panama, Argentina
The operation produced targeted results in several countries. Ecuadorian authorities identified one individual who was part of a group sharing child sexual abuse material and who held approximately 15 GB of images comprising more than 4,000 files. In Panama, investigators arrested the administrator of a group that disseminated abusive material to more than 700 users. In Argentina, authorities arrested a suspect who was allegedly in contact with over 260 girls worldwide and who is now accused of sextortion of minors after allegedly threatening victims who tried to refuse requests for increasingly explicit content.
A continuing campaign: Cumberland, Kidflix, June arrests, and Operation Alice
The Confluencia arrests form part of a sustained, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement effort against online child sexual abuse material. Last February, 25 suspects linked to a large criminal ring distributing AI-generated CSAM were arrested as part of Operation Cumberland. In April 2025, German cybercrime prosecutors took down Kidflix, described as one of the largest CSAM platforms on the dark web, and made an additional 79 arrests after identifying 1,393 suspects. European and Latin American authorities from over a dozen countries arrested 20 more suspects in June 2025 in a separate joint operation targeting production and distribution of CSAM via instant messaging groups. More recently, in March, a global law enforcement action supported by Europol and named "Operation Alice" shut down more than 373,000 dark web sites that offered fake CSAM packages; that investigation began in mid-2021.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and the public
- Technologists and security teams: Platforms and messaging services are specifically cited by INTERPOL as vectors used to groom children, coordinate abuse, connect offenders and receive payment for illegal content, and to enable recirculation of abuse material. Teams that monitor or moderate such services will be watching seized material and cross-border investigative leads that may surface new indicators and networks.
- Policymakers and regulators: INTERPOL’s statement and the multinational scope of Confluencia underscore the role of cross-border cooperation between law enforcement and private-sector platforms. The operation’s reliance on 127 search warrants across 17 countries highlights legal and operational coordination as a continuing requirement.
- The public and families: The rescue of a five-year-old whose parent was producing and selling abuse material, and the allegations of sextortion involving a suspect in contact with over 260 girls, illustrate how online mechanisms can intersect with direct child harm and coercion. INTERPOL’s emphasis that children are revictimized each time images recirculate frames the stakes for families and advocates.
Confluencia adds to an ongoing sequence of multinational actions against CSAM, and authorities say seized material should produce further identifications and safeguarding activity. The central question the operation leaves open is whether the follow-up identifications and cross-border safeguarding measures will keep pace with the networks and platforms investigators say continue to facilitate abuse.
