KUALA LUMPUR: The police will not hold back on taking action against anyone involved in sexual crimes against children, the country's top cop warned.
"This is the message we sent through our joint operation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)," Tan Sri Razarudin Husain told the New Straits Times.
Razarudin said Monday night's Op Pedo Bersepadu PDRM-MCMC, which led to the arrests of 13 people for possession of child sexual abuse material (CASM), demonstrated the police's commitment to combating online sexual crimes, particularly those involving minors.
He added that this was just the beginning, with more efforts being planned to curb such crimes.
The operation, spearheaded by Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11), involved a series of raids across Kuala Lumpur and five states — Selangor, Johor, Terengganu, Penang and Perak.
Authorities descended on homes in affluent neighbourhoods, as well as middle and low-cost areas, and seized 40,000 CSAM and pornographic content from various devices.
They began moving in on their targets at 9pm, with police knocking on the doors of 20 homes belonging to the suspects.
Razarudin said the operation highlighted the police's ability to monitor CSAM and track down those creating, possessing and distributing explicit materials on digital platforms.
"We also want to send a strong message against becoming an 'industry player' in the production and distribution of CSAM.
"The police will not compromise on crimes against children."
Razarudin said Op Pedo also served to remind social media and digital messaging companies of their responsibility in regulating their platforms.
"They must upgrade their policies and safety features to comply with Malaysian laws and enhance monitoring over their platforms to protect children from sexual exploitation online."
He gave his assurance that the police would stop at nothing to protect youths from online sexual crimes.
All the suspects arrested yesterday are expected to be investigated under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act for accessing child pornography and Section 292 of the Penal Code for possession of obscene materials.
Their ages ranged between 20 and 74.
The crackdown followed surveillance and undercover work by the police, supported by intelligence provided by MCMC.
Last week, the New Straits Times ran a series of reports on the rampant sale of Malaysian-made explicit content, including CSAM, on social media and messaging platforms.
The NST's investigation also showed how CSAM was being sold for as cheap as RM1 per video, raising concern among parents about the safety of their children.
Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) principal assistant director Senior Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan had spoken on trends which showed that access to such pornography made predators even more brazen, with some going as far as to attempt child abductions.
She also highlighted how easy access to pornographic content has led to severe addiction, resulting in children — some in primary school — becoming involved in creating and profiting from CSAM.
The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had told the NST how cybercriminals trafficking in CSAM were exploiting advanced encryption technology to avoid arrest.
Malaysia, it said, has forged alliances with the FBI and other international entities to leverage real-time coordination of operations to shut down priority and high-impact targets.