The PSNI have been informed of users of a Dark Web child sexual abuse website that has been taken down as part of a European police operation.
Police in Germany were investigating and shut down a site known as Kidflix, which resembled a well-known streaming service and was thought to be one of the largest paedophile platforms in the world.
A total of 1.8 million users worldwide logged on to the platform between April 2022 and March 2025. On 11 March 2025, the server, which contained around 72 000 videos at the time, was seized by German and Dutch authorities.
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The investigation resulted in the identification of almost 1 400 suspects worldwide, including 63 from the UK. These users were active on the site and had used cryptocurrency to access CSA material. Investigators have now provided intelligence to 28 UK forces, including the PSNI, so action can be taken.
So far, 79 of these individuals have been arrested for sharing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Some of those arrested not only uploaded and watched videos but also abused children. 30 of those arrested have been from the UK.
Investigators have now provided intelligence to 28 UK forces, including the PSNI, so action can be taken.
NCA Senior Manager Neil Keeping said: "With thanks to our law enforcement partners in Germany and Europol, a dangerous site hosting tens of thousands of child sexual abuse videos has been taken down.
"NCA intelligence officers worked quickly to identify the UK users of the site, providing a package of intelligence to forces across the country so arrests could be made and children could be safeguarded.
"Providing this global to local response is paramount in our role to protect children from child sexual abuse and criminals who seek out this content.
"We will continue to work with international law enforcement partners to disrupt the online platforms that operate on the dark web, purely for the sexual gratification of offenders, and ensure children are safeguarded from abuse."
Kidflix was created in 2021 by a cybercriminal who made a huge profit from it, as it quickly became one of the most popular platforms among paedophiles. According to authorities, 91 000 unique videos were uploaded and shared on the platform while it was active, with a total running time of 6 288 hours. On average, around 3.5 new videos were uploaded to the platform every hour, many of which were previously unknown to law enforcement.
Unlike other known platforms of this kind, Kidflix not only enabled users to download CSAM but also to stream video files. Users made payments using cryptocurrencies, which were subsequently converted into tokens. By uploading CSAM, verifying video titles and descriptions and assigning categories to videos, offenders could earn tokens, which were then used to view content. Each video was uploaded in multiple versions – low, medium and high quality – allowing criminals to preview the content and pay a fee to unlock higher quality versions.
Operation Stream, the investigation to take down the website was supported by Europol and led by the State Criminal Police of Bavaria (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt) and the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime (ZCB). It involved 35 countries and has been the largest operation ever handled by Europol’s experts in fighting child sexual exploitation, and one of the biggest cases supported by the law enforcement agency in recent years.
Catherine De Bolle, Europol Executive Director, said: "The digital dimension has driven a rapid evolution in online child sexual exploitation, offering offenders a borderless platform to contact and groom victims, as well as to create, store, and exchange child sexual abuse material. Some attempt to frame this as merely a technical or cyber issue – but it is not. There are real victims behind these crimes, and those victims are children. As a society, we must act to protect our children."
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