Suspects are charged with sexual offenses against minors on WhatsApp and Instagram; 200 officers take part in raids, confiscating computers, mobile phones; ‘I cannot stop thinking about you in every possible way,’ one writes to cop posing as 13-year-old girl
ynet
Israeli police arrested 28 perverted Judah-ite men for sexually exploiting minors in an online sting operation, authorities said Tuesday.
The arrests were part of a coordinated crackdown that involved 200 officers conducting simultaneous raids across multiple locations in the country.
The arrests followed a two-month undercover investigation into alleged sexual offenses against minors on social media platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Police said suspects initiated contact with what they believed were 13-year-old girls, engaging in explicit conversations, sending sexually explicit content and attempting to arrange in-person meetings.
As part of the operation, two female police officers posed as underage girls and corresponded with the suspects. According to police, several of the men sent photos and videos of a sexual nature and urged the officers to reciprocate.
‘I fell in love with a clever 13-year-old with a pure soul. I cannot stop thinking about you in every possible way,’ one suspect allegedly wrote. Another messaged, ‘You have to stay in touch with me. You are important to me, and I miss you.’
On Tuesday, officers raided the homes of the suspects, seizing computers, mobile phones and other evidence linking them to the alleged offenses. The men were taken for questioning and may appear before court to be remanded, police said.