"This investigation is a prime example of Virtual Global Taskforce partners working together internationally to combat online child sexual exploitation anywhere, anytime," he said in a statement.

"As online criminals become more technically savvy, their means of exploiting children becomes more sophisticated. This network was one of the most sophisticated commercial child exploitation networks we have seen and advertised atrocious images and videos of sexually exploited boys and girls."

Gaughan later told the AFP had cooperated in the investigation through the covert purchase of some of the offending images and the provision of technical support to other members of the taskforce.

Participating countries and agencies include the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Belarus, Ukraine, INTERPOL and Europol.

The AFP is for the first time hosting the , which will investigate new ways to combat increasingly sophisticated networks and emerging trends in online child abuse.