A police operation in 12 Polish provinces has resulted in arrests of 17 people suspected of the possession and distribution of child pornography via peer-to-peer networking sites.

Spokesperson for the Warsaw Police Headquarters Mariusz Sokołowski says the suspects were found searching for pornographic materials by the Interpol Office in Wiesbaden, Germany via a P2P social networking programme.

The seventeen could face punishment of up to eight years in prison.

In the crackdown carried out yesterday, the police raided 17 households and companies, collecting 21 computers and laptops, removable disc drives and over 1,300 CDs and DVDs.

This is the fifth raid conducted by law enforcement agencies in Poland this year, with 120 detentions recorded in January. In the years 2007-2009, over a thousand people suspected of possessing and distributing child pornography were caught by the police; 299 of them were charged with the offence. (ab/pg)