Dismantled multinational child pornography ring on Telegram, 16 arrested.

The State Police dismantled an international organization dedicated to trafficking child pornography material on Telegram, described as "comparable to a multinational corporation." Operation 'Fly Trap,' coordinated by the Rome Prosecutor's Office, led to 16 arrests (15 in Italy and one in Switzerland) and one detainee, with the seizure of 282.9 gigabytes of illicit material, including 22,000 videos and 34,000 images distributed across 98 countries.

The investigation, which began in 2024 and concluded at the end of 2025, saw for the first time an undercover agent infiltrate the organization. The alleged leaders of the group, who gathered in the "Room of Kings" on Telegram, are between 22 and 28 years old. Ten individuals were arrested in the act during the searches, while approximately 200 pieces of computer equipment were seized.

The dismantled criminal organization had been active since 2020 on Telegram, where it had created a structured private community with over 1,009 participants. Access was granted upon payment in cryptocurrency or by sharing new child sexual abuse material. According to investigators, some members began this activity when they were still minors, making contact through online gaming channels.

The investigation began in 2024 after the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agency reported the presence of the 'New Saga' group on Telegram to the Italian Postal Police. The National Center for Combating Online Child Pornography (C.N.C.P.O.) then launched an undercover operation, using de-anonymization techniques to identify those responsible. The organization had established strict rules and provided technical support to members to ensure anonymity and preserve the illicit material in encrypted form.