Spain swoops on child porn ring

Many of the children were from Asia or America

Police have arrested 27 men across Spain in the country's biggest ever operation against internet paedophiles.

Detectives uncovered forums and complex networks for exchanging pornographic images of children as young as five in the crackdown, which began in May.

Special attention was paid to suspected paedophiles who used internet chat rooms to exchange pictures.

Officers seized 30 computers with hard disks containing child porn as well as videos in raids in 18 provinces.

Spanish and foreign media said it was the country's biggest ever raid against internet paedophiles.

Spanish radio said that some 5,000 recordings, which it described as "very unpleasant and truly horrifying", originated mostly in Asia, the United States and Sweden.

The suspects have been charged with child prostitution and corrupting minors.

Investigators said they had information which could enable them to identify some of the people responsible for the images, the French news agency AFP reports.