German police say they have shut down one of the biggest darknet child pornography platforms in the world and arrested four members that were running the show.

A spokesperson of the German police told AFP that the platform, named "Boystown", had existed since 2019, and was “set up for the worldwide exchange of child pornography.”

“This was one of the biggest child pornography platforms in the world with over 400,000 members.”

The country has been making strides against child pornography and pedophilia. However, none of the previous actions were as powerful as this.

In September this year, the German police launched a nationwide crackdown against child pornography and raided 50 homes across Germany, seizing evidence linked to a ballooning child sexual abuse investigation. Authorities suspected that as many as 30,000 suspects could be involved.

German media reported that the raids stemmed out of an ongoing investigation that started in October 2019 and involved a man in the western German city of Bergisch Gladbach who is currently facing trials in 79 different crimes, many linked to the sexual abuse of his own young daughter. The accused would record his crimes on his smartphone and distributed them to a wide network of individuals.

Officials say the investigation has "snowballed," leading them to a seemingly endless number of individuals linked to the production and distribution of child pornography.