German police say they have smashed a global child porn ring in which images of sexual abuse were sent from Germany to 92 countries, including New Zealand.
Pornographic images of children were transmitted from more than 1,000 internet connections in Germany to 8,000 IP addresses in countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Austria and Switzerland.
Police in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said the footage included images of the most serious sexual abuse, even of toddlers.
Police seized more than 500 computers throughout Germany, as well as more than 43,000 data storage devices and nearly 800 hard drives.
One man in Germany was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two children in his family aged seven and 11, while most other people accused of involvement have released while evidence from hundreds of computers and thousands of data storage devices is examined.
On Friday, German police were set to sign agreements with internet service providers to make it harder to access websites posting child pornography.
New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs is warning people who access child pornography online that it constantly receives tip-offs about offenders.
The department says it regularly takes part in international efforts to crack down on child pornogprahy.
