SIX men from across Wiltshirehave been arrested as part of a covert six-month national operation coordinated by the NCA and involving 45 police forces across the UK.

The operation has led to the arrest of 660 suspected paedophiles nationwide.

All of the men were arrested by officers from the Child Internet Exploitation Team (CIET) for making and possessing indecent images of children.

Among the arrests made were a 30 year old male Tidworth area and a 49 yr old male from the Swindon area.

Detective Sergeant Jason Roberts from Wiltshire’s CIET said: “Wiltshire Police have a dedicated team of investigators that target those suspected of making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children via the internet.This operation highlights the national scale of this crime.We will continue to work alongside our partner agencies to ensure those arrested are brought to justice and any child that is identified through these investigations are properly safeguarded and protected from the risk of further harm.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police explained that all suspects have been initially bailed to return to a designated police station in the future pending further investigation.

He said: “All relevant child safeguarding considerations that have been identified as a result of these arrests have been addressed and will be subject to further review in conjunction with our partner agencies.”

More than 400 children across the UK have been safeguarded by the operation.

Some of those arrested, which included doctors and teachers, had unsupervised access to children in the course of their work.

Of the 660 suspects arrested nationally, 39 people were Registered Sex Offenders but the majority of those arrested had not previously come to law enforcement’s attention.

The national operation targeted people accessing indecent images of children online.

It has stayed covert until today in order to protect children, identify offenders and secure evidence.

The NCA and its partners are not revealing the methods they used to track down suspects so that they can use the same tactics again in the future.

If anyone has information or suspects they know someone involved in this criminal activity to pass this information direct to Wiltshire Police via 101 or alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.