Quebec police arrested four people Tuesday morning over alleged links to a child pornography ring that appears to have originated in Amsterdam.
The arrests were made in four cities including Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau and Joliette.
Officers from the Surete du Quebec made the arrests after launching an investigation several months ago based on a tip from police in the Netherlands.
The four men, between the ages of 29 and 60, face charges of producing, possessing and distributing child pornography. Originally, police said they arrested five men but revised that number without explanation.
Police in Amsterdam first arrested daycare worker Robert Mikelsons, a Latvian national, in December 2010. He was charged with sexual abusing and photographing the children he took care of.
One year later, Dutch police alerted their Quebec counterparts that Mikelsons was exchanging child pornography images with people in their district.
After several months of investigation, Quebec police were ready to swoop in on Tuesday morning.
They will now begin searching the computers they confiscated from the suspects to determine the extent of their alleged illegal activities, said Sgt. Ronald McInnis.
Mikelsons is believed to be a central figure in the worldwide pornography ring. Dutch police were alerted about him by American authorities.
"The only thing we know is that we believe they were part of the international exchange ring led by Mikelsons," Sgt. Genevieve Bruneau, a police spokesperson told The Canadian Press of its investigation.
The Mikelsons investigation produced thousands of images and videos.
It is not known if the arrested Quebec men knew each other.
