Israel Police detained dozens of suspects on Tuesday for posting child sexual abuse material on fake Instagram entertainment profiles, a police spokesperson said.
Twenty-two suspects were arrested in a joint operation by the youth division of the Police Investigations Department and Unit 105 of Lahav 433, the national unit responsible for serious and international crimes.
Police Commissioner General Danny Levy praised the operation, calling it an important and ethical effort against the phenomenon of “entertainment pages.”
"This is a despicable phenomenon that must be eradicated, and as I have already made clear, we are committed to protecting youth and will deal with the phenomenon with all seriousness by the best police investigators and with all the means at our disposal," he said.
Police hotline receives over a thousand calls
Over the past month, the Unit 105 hotline received thousands of calls from minors and parents nationwide reporting offensive online content.
Following these reports, Lahav 433’s Unit 105 launched an undercover investigation. It uncovered dozens of fake Instagram entertainment profiles that included the names of cities or educational institutions, believed to be operated by various suspects.
Some of these pages were closed after complaints were filed with Meta, and in some cases, investigators identified the suspects behind the profiles.
The investigation files have been forwarded to youth departments within the Israel Police across the country.
During his recent visit to Unit 105, Police Commissioner Levy instructed authorities to act quickly to bring suspects in for questioning and to provide youth units nationwide with all the necessary resources to address the crimes being committed.
Twenty-two suspects arrested
On Tuesday morning, youth departments in police districts nationwide arrested 22 suspects aged between 13 and 17, along with one suspect in his 20s.
The suspects have been brought in for questioning. Following the investigation, the files will be submitted to the attorney-general’s Office for review and further action.