Western Cape teen arrested over alleged links to extremist child exploitation network

A 16-year-old Western Cape boy has been arrested in connection with alleged links to a “violent international online extremist” group that produces child sexual abuse material.

Police arrested the teen in close collaboration with international law enforcement agencies in Malmesbury on Monday.

According to police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the national Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations team received intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Embassy, and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

“The intelligence indicated that a target, suspected of being linked to violent online networks commonly referred to as ‘764’, was believed to be located in South Africa,” she said.

“The ‘764’ networks are violent international online extremist networks associated with child exploitation. These perpetrators reportedly target, blackmail, and coerce minors into online sexual abuse, torturing and murdering animals and other forms of harmful criminal activity.”