

The investigation was officially made public in November 2013. This standardized rating caused controversy, as politicians and members of the UK press later accused the National Crime Agency of negligence. The nudity-only nature of the Azov material caused it to be classified in the UK as level 1 on the COPINE scale for rating images of children, i.e., generally beneath the threshold of legal interest. Inspector Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, of the TPS' Sex Crimes Unit, said, "It's a first for the magnitude of the victims saved" and "the amount of arrests internationally, also a first." Beaven-Desjardins also spoke about materials seized from Way's home: "Officers located hundreds of thousands of images and videos detailing horrific sexual acts against very young children, some of the worst that they have ever viewed." The materials distributed commercially by Azov featured nude athletic and recreational scenes, but not explicit sexual acts. Up to 45 terabytes of images and videos were seized. The Canadian arm of the operation was "Project Spade" in Australia, it was "Operation Thunderer".


Investigations also spread to Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. Īpart from Canada, Australia and the United States, authorities in Hong Kong, South Africa, Spain and Sweden were involved.

Way is alleged to have earned more than $4 million from his website. Investigations involved more than 50 countries. Postal Inspection Service recreated Way's customer records and shared them with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Interpol. Toronto law enforcement authorities and the U.S. In May 2011 Way's home and office were raided, and he was arrested. Investigation įollowing numerous complaints received by the website cybertip.ca about Azov Films, the investigation began in October 2010 when undercover police made online contact with Brian Way, a 42-year-old man from Toronto and the owner of Toronto-based Azov Films, a firm that distributed DVDs and streaming videos of naked children which it marketed as "naturist." The primary producers were Igor Rusanov and Andrey Ivanov in Crimea, Ukraine, Markus Roth in Romania, and Paul Kruger in Germany. 348 people were arrested internationally, and 386 children were said to have been rescued. The investigation eventually covered over 50 countries. The investigation started when Toronto Police Service officers made on-line contact with a man who was alleged to have been sharing pornographic videos via the Internet and by mail. Project Spade, an international police investigation into child pornography, began in October 2010 in Toronto, Canada. Canadian video distributor accused of child pornography
