The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reported Wednesday that 47 people across Canada were arrested, 186 charges were laid for online sexual exploitation, and a dozen children were brought to safety as part of a long-running international operation led by New Zealand’s Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

The operation is a coordination between New Zealand investigators and police departments worldwide, including the FBI, RCMP, Europol, and Interpol, to track down online users possessing and sharing child sexual abuse material across the globe.

The international operation, dubbed “Operation H,” was launched in New Zealand in October 2019 by DIA’s Digital Child Exploitation Team after an online service provider reported tens of thousands of its users were sharing child sexual abuse material. Approximately 90,000 accounts were linked to the activity.

In October 2019, the month Operation H was launched, DIA’s Digital Child Exploitation Team informed the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC) about a secure cloud storage site that contained horrific child sexual abuse material, leading to the 47 arrests and 186 charges in Canada.

The NCECC is the central point of contact for online sexual exploitation of children investigations across Canada, as it has a team of victim identification specialists who work closely with other victim identification specialists around the world to identify and rescue victims of online child sexual abuse.

Europol addressed Operation H in a statement, stating that, “To date, the international investigation has led to the opening of 836 cases internationally, the arrest of 46 individuals across New Zealand, the identification of more than 100 suspects across the EU and the safeguarding of 146 children across the globe.”

Supt. Andre Boileau, Officer in Charge, NCECC said: “Online child sexual exploitation is borderless and is among the most heinous crimes targeting our most vulnerable–our children. This global operation demonstrates the importance of collaborative law enforcement efforts. Operation H is a prime example of how global collaboration can help all of our countries to protect children.”