Operation Auxin was an Australian police operation in September 2004, leading to the

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

of almost 200 people on charges of child pornography. These people were all accused of purchasing child pornography over the Internet, using their credit cards, from Belarusian

crime syndicates Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...

, the credit card payments having been processed by a company named Landslide.com in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Among the accused were people holding positions of trust in the community, such as police officers (including one officer assigned to investigate child pornography), members of the military, teachers and

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

s of religion. Several of the suspects committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. It was the follow-up to the U.S. FBI operation

Operation Falcon Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) is the name of several week-long dragnets organized by the United States Marshals Service. FALCON I occurred between April 4 and 10, 2005 (also Crime Victims' Rights Week), FALCON II ...

. The initial credit card evidence used in the investigation has since been widely debunked due to there being no established link between a credit card being used and actual pornography being downloaded. Additionally, multiple cases of

credit card fraud Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...

involving organised crime syndicates has also raised the possibility that credit card numbers retrieved from Landslide.com may have been used by a third party and not their owners at all. Similar operations in the UK have come under intense fire both from those wrongfully convicted and from civil rights groups.

References

Auxin, Operation Law enforcement in Australia Crime in Australia 2004 in Australia Law enforcement operations {{law-enforcement-stub