Operation Amethyst was a

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

(police) operation targeting

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. Involving simultaneous searches on May 27, 2002 of over 100 individuals suspected of

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

ing child pornography, it was one of the largest police operations in Ireland's history. Following a

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

investigation in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, details of 130 people were passed to the Garda Síochána. The homes of over 100 suspected users of the site were raided , including several high-profile individuals including Circuit Court Judge

Brian Curtin Brian Curtin (b. 1951/52) is a former barrister and Irish circuit court judge, who was tried for possessing images of child pornography. After the case collapsed, the question of whether Curtin could continue as a judge became the focus of politi ...

and celebrity chef Tim Allen.

References

Anita Guidera
''Ex-priest jailed on child porn charges'', The Poynter Institute (Online), October 16, 2003.
Cormac O’Keeffe
''Nationwide swoop followed FBI tip-off '', Irish Examiner, April 24, 2004.
Crime.ie’s guide to the biggest and best gardaí operations''
Crime.ie, May 24, 2012

News.telegraph, May 30, 2002.
''Child porn charges admitted''
BBC News Europe, January 16, 2003. 2002 in the Republic of Ireland

Amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...

Garda Síochána operations {{crime-stub