Operation Blue Orchid was a joint

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 territori ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n operation to dismantle an online

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 ...

ring, centering on the website ''Blue Orchid''. It began in May 2000, after an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

in a separate child pornography case came forward with information about the ''Blue Orchid'' site. The website, which showed depictions of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

, contained videos of Russian boys aged eight being abused, selling such videos for around $300 each. The investigation included US Customs Officials allegedly buying one of the videos from the website. The operation lead to the arrest of four Americans and five Russians, including Vsevolod Solntsev-Elbe, creator and business manager of the ''Blue Orchid'' website. It was seen as a success – particularly for international cooperation – and led Charles Winwood, acting commissioner in

US Customs The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted c ...

, to say "Operation Blue Orchid demonstrates that there really are no borders when it comes to our mutual interest in protecting children".

References

Child pornography crackdowns 2000 in the United States 2000 in Russia Online child abuse Underground culture {{police-stub