Operation Auxin
Encyclopedia
Operation Auxin was an Australia
n police operation in September 2004, leading to the arrest
of almost 200 people on charges of child pornography
. These people were all accused of purchasing child pornography over the Internet
, using their credit card
s, from Belarus
ian crime syndicates
, the credit card payments having been processed by a company named 'Landslide.com' in Fort Lauderdale
, Florida
. Among the accused were people holding positions of trust in the community, such as police officer
s (including one police officer assigned to investigate child pornography), members of the military, teacher
s, and minister
s of religion. Several of the suspects committed suicide
. It was the follow-up to the U.S. FBI operation Operation Falcon.
However despite Australian governmental officials' insistence that the operation was both a moral and legal success several controversies and pending legal actions make this claim dubious http://www.inquisition21.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=35. Furthermore evidence has emerged that police and prosecutors may have denied suspects medical attention during arrest, manipulated evidence during trial, and continued with illegal harassment afterwards http://www.inquisition21.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=35.
Finally the initial credit card evidence used in the investigation has since been widely debunked due to there being no established link between a credit card being used and actual pornography being downloaded http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/apr/19/hitechcrime.money. Additionally multiple cases of credit card fraud involving organised crime syndicates has also raised the possibility that credit card numbers retrieved from Landslide.com may have been used by a third party, and not their owners at all http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/74690/operation-ore-exposed.html.
Similar operations in the United Kingdom have come under intense fire both from those wrongfully convicted and from civil rights groups http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/74690/operation-ore-exposed.html.It is felt by certain lay-people that operations like Auxin are less about targeting actual child abuse and more about massive arrest rates to garner positive media attention http://www.titaniumteddybear.com/?p=169.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n police operation in September 2004, leading to the arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
of almost 200 people on charges of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. These people were all accused of purchasing child pornography over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, using their credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s, from Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian crime syndicates
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, the credit card payments having been processed by a company named 'Landslide.com' in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Among the accused were people holding positions of trust in the community, such as police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s (including one police officer assigned to investigate child pornography), members of the military, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s, and minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
s of religion. Several of the suspects committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. It was the follow-up to the U.S. FBI operation Operation Falcon.
However despite Australian governmental officials' insistence that the operation was both a moral and legal success several controversies and pending legal actions make this claim dubious http://www.inquisition21.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=35. Furthermore evidence has emerged that police and prosecutors may have denied suspects medical attention during arrest, manipulated evidence during trial, and continued with illegal harassment afterwards http://www.inquisition21.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=35.
Finally the initial credit card evidence used in the investigation has since been widely debunked due to there being no established link between a credit card being used and actual pornography being downloaded http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/apr/19/hitechcrime.money. Additionally multiple cases of credit card fraud involving organised crime syndicates has also raised the possibility that credit card numbers retrieved from Landslide.com may have been used by a third party, and not their owners at all http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/74690/operation-ore-exposed.html.
Similar operations in the United Kingdom have come under intense fire both from those wrongfully convicted and from civil rights groups http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/74690/operation-ore-exposed.html.It is felt by certain lay-people that operations like Auxin are less about targeting actual child abuse and more about massive arrest rates to garner positive media attention http://www.titaniumteddybear.com/?p=169.