Thai police arrest Britons in clampdown on child abuse

SUSPECTED British child abusers have been arrested in Thailand in a joint sweep involving local police and British investigators.

The arrests took place in the tourist resort of Pattaya, about an hour from Bangkok. The investigation, called Operation Naga, was continuing to clamp down on sex abuse in the country today. It is thought that a number of Britons are among those already detained.

The operation began when an online network was identified by covert internet investigators in Britain.

The London-based Child Exploitation and Online Protection team has been helping specialist police teams in Thailand and Thai prosecutors from a support centre in Pimlico.

The team's deputy head of operations, Andy Wells, said: "Working with the Thai police we have located and identified a number of individuals who are suspected of serious alleged offences against vulnerable children."

CEOP is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.