Seven people have been detained and four others are under investigation by the National Police for possessing child pornography stored in cloud services. The suspects also used instant messaging apps to obtain material that they later kept on cloud servers. Additionally, one suspect used a video chat app to contact minors and demanded sexually explicit photographs from them.
The investigation was led by the Central Cybercrime Unit, with arrests carried out across nine Spanish provinces: Alicante, Asturias, Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Palencia, Valencia, Valladolid, and Zaragoza. The operation highlights how cloud storage can enable safer access to illicit content for those involved, who can manage, share, and retrieve material remotely without relying on local devices.
The authorities found that the individuals stored files in remote cloud storage instead of on local devices to reduce the risk of discovery by friends or family who might access their hardware. This setup also allowed them to reach the material from any device, add new content, delete items, or edit it as needed, which is especially appealing for offenders who act on sexual impulses in the moment.
Several suspects used instant messaging apps to exchange sexual material involving minors. One arrestee also used a video conferencing platform to contact minors and demand explicit photographs in exchange for sending similar images to them.
During searches at the homes of those detained, officers seized a total of six smartphones, one tablet, three laptops, three external hard drives, and a USB memory stick. These seizures illustrate the range of tools offenders rely on to access, store, and distribute illegal material across digital environments.