A global network that served child abuse images to hundreds of thousands of members in the dark web, known as the internet’s dark side, was dismantled following months of intense efforts by cybercrime experts in the U.S.
The operation led to the arrest of eight individuals, and 1.2 million videos were seized. The leader of the gang, identified as “John De Vil,” turned out to be Mehmet Berk Bozüyük, a married father of two from Adana, southern Türkiye.
The site, which could be accessed via special internet servers for $100, provided access to the illegal internet network known as the “Dark/Deep Web,” where child abuse content was made available. Agents identified 39-year-old Krunalkumar Modi as the person controlling the site’s database and granting access.
After identifying Modi as the person responsible for granting access to the site, the police initiated the “Dirty Face” operation. During a raid on Modi’s home in New Jersey, authorities uncovered more than 1.2 million videos, totaling over 6 terabytes, many involving babies. It was also determined that millions of people were members of the site.
According to the information provided by Modi and the materials found at his home, the investigation deepened, revealing that Ximena Maqueda was the network’s financier. During searches conducted in Canada and other countries, eight people were arrested.
Bozüyük, using stolen and forged identities through Ximena Maqueda, was found to be facilitating the global sale and distribution of child abuse material. It was also revealed that many of the abused children were migrants who were kidnapped at the borders and were being sought internationally by their families.
The arrested individuals, including Brett Ryan Moore, Brett Allen Snodderly, Frankie Pineiro, Michael Andrew Warden, Jacob Ross Conly, Kody Vance Jordan, Israel Cole Thompson and Krunalkumar Modi, were charged with distributing child sexual abuse material across state lines, distributing obscene materials, and the illegal use of two-way communication devices. They were sent to prison. However, the gang leaders, Mehmet Berk Bozüyük and Ximena Maqueda, remain at large.
A Red Notice has been issued for the arrest of Bozüyük, who faces charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, money laundering, promoting child sexual crimes, selling child sexual abuse material, transmitting child abuse material across state lines using electronic devices, distributing obscene materials and the illegal use of two-way communication devices.