Dutch police have been involved in breaking up a child sex ring in the Philippines in which children were sold by their families for internet-based abuse.

A Dutch police officer who is permanently stationed in Manilla to help combat child sex tourism, was directly involved in the investigation, as were specialists from the Dutch high tech crime unit, according to a report on politie.nl.

In total, 18 children were removed from their homes, five of whom were from the same family. The children were aged between five months and 12 years and were abused to order via the internet. A show cost between €15 and €25.

Clients

The report did not say if any clients, some of whom came from the Netherlands, had been arrested. ‘All available information about the buyers is being shared with the authorities in the countries where they come from,’ the police statement said.

Farid El Hamouti, the Dutch policeman in Manilla, said it is shocking what a low threshold this form of abuse had. ‘Both the buyers and the sellers seem to think abusing children is the most normal thing in the world,’ he said.

Australian police were also brought in by the local police force to help in the investigation.