A worldwide porn bust has led to the arrest of f 348 people and saved the lives of 386 children around the world. The operation was called Project Spade and has been in the works since 2010. The project started in Canada but involved Interpol in more than 50 countries including Australia, Spain, Mexico, Norway and Greece.

“This operation shows that international police cooperation works. Despite large amounts of material and that this is time-consuming work, this shows that the Internet is not a safe haven for crimes against children,” Norwegian police spokesman Bjoern-Erik Ludvigsen said in a statement.

The investigation began with a Toronto man accused of running a child pornography film distribution company. Investigators executed a search warrant at Way’s company and home, seizing about 1,000 pieces of evidence, including computers and DVDs. They also went undercover and started making purchases from his website.

Way was charged with 24 offenses, including child pornography and is currently incarcerated. Police have also called his film distribution company, Azov Films, a criminal organization.

Over 100 people were arrested in Canada and 76 in the U.S. Others were arrested in other countries. Overall Project Spade has saved 348 children who were currently being used in pornography and could have potentially saved thousands of others. The Canadian police say that the investigation is still ongoing and there will likely be more arrests made in connection with the case.

Image from YouTube.