Over 100 Children Rescued In Canada Over Child Porn - Police

Canadian police announced this week that a massive child pornography investigation has led to the arrests of more than 300 people across the globe. The three-year investigation, nicknamed Project Spade, has also reportedly led to the rescue of almost 400 children.

Announcing the end of Project Spade during a press conference Thursday, Toronto Police Service Chief William Blair explained that the investigation began in 2010 after undercover officers made contact with a Toronto man suspected of sharing child pornography, per the Agence France-Presse.

The man, identified as Brian Way by the BBC, was later taken into custody for allegedly owning a company that distributed child porn on the Internet.

The Associated Press writes:

Police allege the man instructed people around the world to create the videos of children ranging from five to 12 years of age, and then distributed the videos to international customers.

The company, Toronto-based Azov Films, sold mail-order DVDs and streamed online videos of naked boys from Germany, Romania and Ukraine, which it marketed as naturist movies and claimed were legal in Canada and the United States.

The website Azovfilms.com allegedly raked in almost $4 million annually, according to the AFP.

On Thursday, Canadian police said that the investigation into Azov Films led to the arrest of more than 340 people, as well as the rescue of 386 children across the globe. School teachers, doctors and priests were reportedly among those arrested.

Toronto police said this is "one of the largest child porn busts they've ever seen," per the AP.