KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has called for further collaboration between authorities to protect Malaysian children from abuse.
Yeoh's remark followed the success of Op Pedo, a joint operation spearheaded by Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which targeted online paedophilia activities.
"D11 successfully apprehended individuals involved in online paedophilia through Op Pedo. Many victims of paedophilia suffer in silence and carry their wounds into their teenage years, affecting their youth," she said in a statement.
"Hence, I would like to commend the police, who worked with the MCMC in bringing down these perpetrators. More such joint operations, please, to protect our young Malaysians!"
Last night, D11 and MCMC conducted a coordinated crackdown on individuals suspected of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The operation, which spanned Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Terengganu and Perak, resulted in the arrests of 13 suspects from affluent neighbourhoods, as well as middle- and low-cost areas.
The raids also led to the seizures of more than 40,000 CSAM and pornographic content from various devices, including computers, mobile phones and external hard drives.
The suspects, aged between 20 and 74, included individuals who admitted to buying explicit content through social media and messaging platforms like X and Telegram.
The raids were carried out following extensive surveillance and undercover work by the police, with intelligence support from MCMC.
Participating units included Bukit Aman's Forensic Laboratory Division (D10), Technical Assistance Division (D6) and Criminal Investigation Department.
The crackdown followed a weeklong investigative series by the 'New Straits Times' highlighting the sale of explicit Malaysian-made content, including CSAM, on social media and messaging platforms.
The NST reports revealed how CSAM was being sold for as little as RM1 per video, raising serious concerns among parents about their children's safety.