Toronto police break child pornography ring

A three-year investigation into child pornography has led to police in Toronto folding a child pornogrphy ring and the arrest of 341 peopl.

Some 100 arrests were made in Canada and 240 in other countries during the investigation.

The operation also saw the rescue of around 400 children.

At the centre of the inquiry was a Toronto-based firm that allegedly sold DVDs and streamed videos of naked boys in Germany, Romania and Ukraine.

Azov Films marketed the footage as "naturist" and claimed they were legal in Canada and the US.

The films were distributed in 94 countries, police said.

The head of the company, identified as Canadian Brian Way, 42, has been in custody since his arrest in May 2011, following an undercover operation. He is charged with 11 different offences including possession of, and import and export, of child pornography.

The Toronto Police Service Child Exploitation Section (TPS) was able to determine the identities of the customers from the Azov Films website.